DINESH KARKI
KATHMANDU, April 9: Ongoing routine maintenance of radar (radio detection and ranging) equipment at Tribhuvan International Airport can result in a 50 percent reduction in the air traffic volume that the country´s sole international airport has been handling.
According to Dinesh Shrestha, General Manager of TIA, all airlines using TIA have been urged to lower their number of flights for the next 14 days, as dysfunctional radar has forced air traffic controllers to shift to a procedural control system.
All the airlines have responded positively as radar maintenance is crucial for aviation safety, Shrestha told myrepublica.com. TIA has notified that the flight reductions will remain effecive till 23 April.
Shrestha further said that the lack of radar control system can delay half the daily operations that include 70 international and 280 domestic flights.
He warned that the maintenance could delay domestic flights more than international flights. Some domestic schedules can be canceled, he warned.
The radar at TIA was manufactured by Japan´s Toshiba company in 1998 and it was installed under a grant assistance from the Japanese government.
We are doing maintenance work on the radar after 12 years whereas it should be have been done every seven years, Shrestha told myrepublica.com.
The radar overhaul and maintenance cost of Rs 42.5 million is going to be borne by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
American firm for VOR DME replacement
An American company, Selex Inc, has been selected through tender to replace essential navigational equipment at TIA at Kathmandu and at Biratnagar Domestic Airport.
Other major construction work at TIA is also continuing at the same time. Shrestha informed that the construction of a hanger, which will allow parking space for nine big aircraft, has been completed. The overlay of the runway is also going on, he added.
VHF Omnidirectional Radiator (VOR) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) at both airports are to be replaced as their lifespan is already over.
According to Sanjeev Singh Kathayat, Manager of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the American company is to complete installation of VOR and DME in the coming five months. Without such equipment aircraft cannot take off and land. The VOR and DME at Kathmandu are 12 years old and these equipment at Biratnagar 16 years old.
The total cost of the equipment installation is around Rs 80 million.
Published on 2010-04-09 23:01:21
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