SOME NAVIGATIONAL AIDS WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE TO PILOTS LANDING AT DABOLIM AIRPORT DUE TO REPAIR WORK

PANJIM: Certain navigational aids would not be available to pilots at the Goa Airport due to the ongoing maintenance work and it would affect flight schedules, airport officials said on Tuesday.  Goa Airport Director D Paul Manickam said that Indian Navy has undertaken maintenance work of the runway which would go on for the next two months affecting aircraft movement.

The maintenance work is undertaken from 8.30 AM to 1 PM and 3 pm to 5.30 pm.  During this period the full runway and certain navigational aids would not be available, but normal landings and takeoffs can take place outside the maintenance hours.

He stated that many airlines have rescheduled their timings since April 4, when the maintenance began. "Airports which have a second runway available can carry out maintenance on each runway alternately. But airports like Dabolim which have only one runway have to make arrangements to inter-weave maintenance work with daily operations," he said.

Referring to media reports that six airlines had flouted norms by carrying out 'blind landing' at Goa airport in the absence of navigational aid on a shortened runaway, he claimed that though there were some landings on the shortened runway, they could not be called 'blind landings'.

He said that Naval authorities in Goa have consulted all operators and AAI before commencing work.  "A working-level meeting was held at airport for discussing the required maintenance work on March 25 under the aegis of the Naval authorities," he said, adding that a special programme has been developed wherein no flight is required to be cancelled and the bare minimum changes would occur.

"To ensure this, all maintenance work commences only at 9 am when military hours of flying begin. All morning civil flights up to 0830 am continue as before. Maintenance work is also stopped between 1 pm-3 pm, the peak hours for civil air traffic," he said.

"Even thereafter, when maintenance work restarts at 3 PM and goes upto 6 pm, airliners have the option to land and take off but length of the runway would be shorter and few aids such as PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator), which are physically fixed on the ground, would not be available for the period," he added.  The Indian Navy manages the Dabolim international airport here (popularly known as Goa Airport). – PTI