Chennai airport gets new instrument landing system

AAI installs new ILS at Chennai airport for precise flight landings, crucial for safety during low visibility conditions.

For the precise and safe landing of flights, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has installed a new instrument landing system (ILS) at the Chennai airport.

In June last year, the work to replace the old ILS began at the Guindy end of the main runway (25 end) and continued for four months. After the installation was completed, the AAI’s aviation safety team inspected the facility, and it became operational subsequently. AAI officials said the ILS was a critical system for flight as it helped guide an aircraft during approach and landing.

“There are two components in this system — a localiser and a glidepath. While the localiser aids an aircraft and directs it accurately to the centre line of the runway, the glidepath assists in ensuring a smooth descent and landing. This is essential and vital for an aircraft, particularly during low visibility and bad weather conditions,” an official said.

Officials said they had to replace the system once a decade, and it had been installed at a cost of ₹8 crore. “The ILS is available for both ends of the runway — the Pallavaram end (07 end) and Guindy end. We mostly used the Pallavaram end during the four months the work to replace the ILS at the Guindy end was going on. We completed the work and started using the new ILS by November, right before winter, which is when visibility issues usually occur,” the official added.

Other navigational aids, such as the precision approach path indicator (PAPI) and very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR), were available at the Guindy end of the runway during this period. “It is inevitable. We cannot compromise on replacing the old ILS as it is a crucial system to ensure the safety of aircrafts,” another official said.