Team Herald
PANJIM: The GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Limited (GAL), has successfully completed calibration of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) for the newly built Runway 28 of the upcoming new Mopa Greenfield Airport.
A special aircraft from Airports Authority of India (AAI), Flight Inspection Unit (FIU) equipped with the analyser and ILS equipment signal tracker completed its technical observations and fine-tuning of the equipment.
With this, the upcoming new international airport in Goa has achieved a significant milestone. Subsequently, the Instrument Flight Procedures (IFP) will be flown and validated by a commercial airline, which once formally approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will give a go-ahead for the commercial pilots to fly on that procedure. IFP is developed considering various factors including the terrain, obstacles in the surroundings etc. for the execution of a safe landing.
GGIAL CEO R V Sheshan said that successful completion of ILS calibration ensures precise and safe landing of aircraft.
“This is a major step forward towards making the new airport commercially operational. As an airport operator, GGIAL is constantly working to make Goa’s new international airport, the airport of choice for airlines and fliers by unlocking the true potential of Goa. The new airport will offer a plethora of employment and tourism opportunities promoting socio-economic development in Goa,” he added.
ILS is an essential navigation aid to help pilots land their aircraft in low visibility conditions during IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) flights. ILS is used to provide accurate azimuth (compass bearing) and descent guidance signals to aircraft for landing on the runway under normal or adverse weather conditions. This system can assist an aircraft to land at a Runway Visual Range (RVR) as low as 550 m.
The ILS calibration process is carried out by FIU Aircraft which is equipped with an Automatic Flight Inspection System (AFIS). The independent dual receiver configuration of the system ensures very high integrity and repeatability of the testing/calibration results. This FIU aircraft which conducts ILS calibration is operated by pilots and engineers of the AAI.
