Even the predictability of the fog around this time of the year would not have entirely prepared travellers for the delays, disruption and last-minute cancellation of flights and trains this week. This is largely due to the continuing unpredictability of when the fog would descend, how dense it would be and for how long it would last. While Meteorology has acquired a certain degree of precision in predicting weather conditions, it is clearly outwitted by the fog in North India. With long distance trains running several hours late, scores of trains and flights getting cancelled and hundreds getting rescheduled, passengers have had a harrowing time. Poor visibility and poorer driving sense rendering road travel also unsafe and slow, they were reduced to praying for a slice of good fortune. While many of them would have booked tickets weeks, if not months, in advance, last minute cancellation of flights and trains left them in the lurch. Those who had the misfortune of getting stranded at the overflowing railway stations and departure areas in airports had an even more uncomfortable and frustrating time with no place to sit and with supply of food and water running out.
While hi-tech planes have the ability to fly even in blinding weather conditions, pilots continue to rely on their eyesight and what they can see for themselves. Dependence on instruments necessarily slows down taxiing, landing and take-off by planes, increasing operational time. That technology alone is no safeguard against dense fog was evident during Christmas last month when all important airports in Europe virtually shut down, frustrating holiday plans of thousands of people. One must also keep in mind that some of the major disasters involving planes actually took place on the ground and in foggy conditions in Europe and the United States. It would be unfair to blame air traffic controllers, therefore, for being cautious and for placing safety above everything else.There is, however, no excuse for negligence. The Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Chandigarh airport was last year found to have outlived its life but is yet to be replaced. If officials are tied down by technical reasons or if they have to wait for the new terminal to become operational, in all fairness they should have made their helplessness public. While more airlines and pilots in the country are said to have become compatible to category III level of the ILS this year, a lot more needs to be done to alert passengers in advance, to enable them to make alternative arrangements and to make the waiting period more comfortable.
Source: The Tribune, Chandigarh, India.
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