MOHALI: Extension of the runway and improved visibility has made Chandigarh International Airport (CHIAL) capable of handling widebodied aircraft like AirBus 330, AirBus 340, AirBus 380, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787. This has also made conditions feasible for inviting international airliners.
Visibility on the runway has been improved, with a minimum of 350 mtrs of landing visibility, said CHIAL CEO Rakesh Dembla.
This information is being provided to British and Canadian embassies in anticipation of international airliners opting to bring their flights to Chandigarh.
For wide-body aircraft, the required runway length is aminimum of 10,000 meters, because of which the runway length has been increased to 10,400 meters, said Dembla. He added, “We are fully equipped to handle wide-body aircraft at the Chandigarh airport.
We are holding meetings with international stakeholders, persuading them to allow wide-body aircraft bringing flights from UK and Canada. The runway has been developed to handle wide body aircraft. It is equipped with two Instruments Landing Systems (ILS) at both ends, CAT-I and one end and CAT-II at the other.
CAT-I is capable of handling flights at 500 mtrs visibility whereas CAT-II is capable of handling aircraft landing at 350 mtrs visibility,” he said.
BRITISH AIRWAYS MAY START FLIGHT
Rakesh Dembla said talks with the British High Commission for starting the flight to London were progressing as the British High Commissioner said that he would discuss the proposal with his government. He said the process would take take nearly eight months. The direct flight will most likely be to the Heathrow Airport in London or Birmingham airport.
WHAT IS WIDE-BODY AIRCRAFT?
A wide-body aircraft is a jet airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles, also known as twin-aisle aircraft, with seven or more seats abreast. The biggest wide-body aircraft are known as jumbo jets due to their very large size like the Boeing 747 ("jumbo jet"), Airbus A380 ("superjumbo jet"), and upcoming Boeing 777X ("mini jumbo jet"). The phrase, "jumbo jet", derives from Jumbo, a famous circus elephant.
