Kolkata: Kolkata Airport has increased the minimum visibility requirement for aircraft landing at one of its four designated points from 1500 meters to 5000 meters.
This is because a high-rise residential complex apartment in Kaikhali has been constructed 11.16 meters more in height than the permissible height for buildings in the vicinity of an airport.
The changes had been done at the southern end of the secondary runway of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport.
While the anomaly was detected in 2020 only, action has been taken now after Kolkata Airport replaced its old navigational system.
The anomalous portion of the building has entered the airport’s funnel zone, the pathway used by aircraft to land and take off.
During summer, aircraft approaching from this southern side might not face problems but it could be impacted during monsoons when visibility decreases.
The Doppler very high frequency omni range (DVOR) serves as a ground-level navigational aid for aircraft, proving particularly useful during adverse weather conditions.
The old DVOR has been replaced, and a new one has been placed 50 meters from it in the northern part of the runway. The air traffic management of Kolkata Airport detected problems in the signalling system owing to this anomalous 11.61m.
Despite the developer obtaining clearances from the Airport Authority and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation 10 years ago, the Airport had to implement this increase.
