Surat: The aircraft and passengers at the Surat airport will no longer face flight delays and diversion due to foggy weather during the winter season. The airport management has completed the commercial flight trail of the renovated instrument landing system (ILS) in the last two days and the commissioning will be done very soon.Official sources said the ILS system was damaged due to heavy flooding in the airport premises during the monsoon season. A team of senior officials from Airports Authority of India (AAI) had visited the airport for the ILS inspection and suggested to raise the equipment hut by almost 3.5 feet to protect ILS system from damaging in floods.The work of raising the height of the ILS equipment hut and other instruments was completed and the calibration work was performed.Official sources said the airport is located close to the Arabian Sea and the ILS equipment hut site is set up in the low-lying area where the ground level is around three to four feet lower. Due to the insufficient water outlet available at the airport boundary, the combination of heavy rains coupled with high tide in the sea flood the airport area.With the Surat airport buzzing with more than 50 flight movements — take offs and landing — in a day, the non-existing ILS facility on the runway is causing immense difficulties for the aircraft pilots to safely land during the adverse weather conditions prevailing in the Diamond City due to heavy rains, fog situation during the winter season.Talking to TOI, airport director, Sanjay Kumar Panigrahi said, “We have completed the final task of flight trail by commercial airline. Now, the commercial airline report on the trial will be submitted to the AAI headquarters for final approval of the commissioning of the ILS system. We hope that the ILS will be commissioned very soon.”What is ILS systemILS stands for instrument landing system and is a standard International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) precision landing aid that is used to provide accurate azimuth and descent guidance signals for guidance to aircraft for landing on the runway under normal or adverse weather conditions.

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