Liquor baron Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines has become the first private airline in the country to get Category III certification from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
This means aircraft and pilots of Kingfisher Airlines are certified to operate under lower visibility conditions due to fog or other poor weather conditions.
At present, national flag carriers Air-India and Indian Airlines are the only CAT III airlines.
"This shows our commitment to this civil aviation industry. Our pilots and aircraft are now equipped to operate under any weather conditions. Our passengers will not be affected by fog," said Mallya.
The number of CAT III-compliant pilots in India has gone up from 148 in 2005 to 326 in 2006 and the number of CAT II-trained pilots has gone risen from 661 in 2005 to 794 in December 2006.
At present, Air-India has 280 pilots trained in CAT II and 118 in CAT III, Indian Airlines has 268 pilots trained in CAT II and 192 in CAT III.
Jet Airways has 203 pilots in CAT II and 33 foreign pilots, who are CAT III-compliant. Air Sahara has 20 CAT II-compliant pilots, whereas Spice Jet has 23 CAT II-compliant pilots and IndiGo has 12 CAT III-compliant pilots of whom nine are foreign pilots.
Pilots in command should have minimum 2500 hours experience with 500 hours on type as commanders to be certified as compliant in CAT III.
Apart from rescheduling flights, Jet Airways said it will position its 170 CAT II trained pilots in Delhi and across the network to enable the airline operate its morning and evening flights in and out of Delhi and thereby minimise flight disruptions and delays.
The newest low-fare domestic carrier, IndiGo, also announced that it has received CAT III approval from the DGCA to operate in fog conditions.
With over 40 per cent of its pilots already trained to operate in low visibility conditions, IndiGo will be able to maintain significantly better operations during the fog season this winter, the airline executives said.
Meanwhile, the government is considering amending civil aviation rules to make it mandatory to have Category II instrument landing system at all airports across the country to tackle fog-related problems.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said that the proposed amendment of civil aviation rules would encourage all airlines to train pilots till the CAT II level.
The DGCA has proposed to amend the Civil Aviation Requirements making it mandatory for all pilots to be trained at least till the CAT II level.
"While we want to reduce fog-related inconvenience caused to passengers, we cannot ignore safety at any cost," Patel said, adding the only Indian airport, which had the highest CAT IIIB facilities was the one in Delhi.
He announced the government's intention to upgrade four to five airports in the northern region, which is generally affected by fog during winter, to the CAT II level.
These include Amritsar, Lucknow and Jaipur. Patel said CAT II or CAT III training for pilots required them to first fulfil conditions of flying a minimum of 2,000 hours, 500 hours for particular types of high-technology aircraft, and a minimum number of take-offs and landings.
Meanwhile, Delhi International Airport, the most affected by fog, has initiated necessary arrangements such as free park and ride facility near domestic airport, temporary cabins outside terminal 1B for additional passenger seating and additional food and beverage counters, and 24x7 restaurant opened for passenger comfort.
