Akasa Air has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to exempt it from deploying CAT-III trained pilots on flights to and from two major fog-affected airports, Kolkata and Bengaluru, for specific periods, since there is a shortage of such pilots in its roster, sources told Business Standard.
The airline has informed the regulator that without this exemption, its entire flight operations could face a "cascading" impact.
Pilots trained on CAT-III instrument landing systems can land in low-visibility conditions at airports equipped with these systems.
The three subcategories—CAT-III A, B, and C—permit landings with minimum runway visibility of 175m, 50m, and zero visibility, respectively.
Akasa Air did not respond to queries on this issue.
On November 13, the DGCA instructed all airlines to comply with the fog mandate, requiring only "CAT III-ready" pilots and aircraft for flights to and from fog-affected airports, which include Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata and Bengaluru, between 9 PM and 10 AM.
This year, the regulator's directive has been implemented a bit earlier than usual due to the early onset of fog and smog in northern India.
On November 29, Akasa Air wrote to the DGCA seeking exemption from this mandate for flights operating to and from Bengaluru and Kolkata airports between 9 pm and 4 am.
While the airline did not explicitly mention it in the letter, sources mentioned that this request is due to a shortage of CAT III-trained pilots.
The airline currently has about 105 such pilots, whereas approximately 165 are required.
In its November 29 letter, Akasa Air warned that without the requested exemption, its operations at Bengaluru and Kolkata airports would face "significant disruptions," severely affecting overall network, causing inconvenience to passengers.
"The cascading effect of these disruptions will extend beyond just the immediate delays at Bengaluru and Kolkata.
"Aircraft that are unable to land as per schedule will cause ripple delays across the network, impacting subsequent departures, crew schedules, airport slot performance, and ultimately causing a cascading effect on passengers," it mentioned.
The airline sought this exemption citing weather data, which showed that the runway visual range (visibility) at Bengaluru airport never dropped below 550 meters between 9 pm and 4 am from December 10, 2023, to February 10, 2024.
For Kolkata airport, it noted that the visibility dropped below 550 meters only once during the same time period.
Sources mentioned that the airline, which started flight operations in August 2022, plans to achieve CAT-related approvals or pilot training in phases.
They talked about the airline's strategy, which has made plans keeping in mind the topography of southern and northern states is different, and that Bengaluru will be impacted differently compared to Delhi.
