NEW DELHI: Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday called Shashi Tharoor “arm-chair critic” as he responded to the Congress MP’s criticism on the handling of Delhi Airport’s operations during the winter fog season. In a series of posts, Scindia provided a comprehensive rebuttal, emphasizing the government’s proactive measures and the technical complexities involved in aviation operations. This after the Congress leader in a series of posts on X attacked the aviation ministry. Tharoor added different media reports in his posts to highlight the airport chaos.
Taking a dig at Tharoor, Scindia started his response saying ” it is for someone who is lost in his esoteric world of thesaurus that data mining of selective press articles from the internet qualifies as research.” The Union aviation minister began by addressing Tharoor’s concerns about the recent chaos at Delhi Airport, suggesting that Tharoor’s reliance on selective press articles for information was inadequate. He then detailed the critical importance of runway maintenance for passenger safety, explaining that the maintenance was scheduled with the highest priority to be completed before the onset of the fog season. However, he acknowledged that unforeseen pollution incidents and the enforcement of GRAP-IV in Delhi led to a delay in the recarpeting of the runway, pushing its commissioning by a month.
Scindia was responding to a series of posts by Shashi Tharoor calling the recent airport chaos as “Modi govt-made disaster.”
The Congress MP started the social media exchange with a post “Delhi Airport has been in chaos recently. The young professional wanting to go home for Makar Sankranti. The Army officer excited to visit his ancestral village for Lohri. The anxious son trying to get home to take care of an unwell parent. Thousands of peoples’ lives and schedules have been disrupted by a regular, predictable, foggy winter day. It’s a Modi Govt-made disaster, a result of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s neglect and incompetence. See the thread that follows.”
Timing of airport runway repair
In his second post, Tharoor questioned the timing of airport runway repair. “In 2008, at a cost of Rs. 1,000 crore, Delhi IGI Airport got a brand-new CAT III-B compliant runway. CAT-III B is a type of Instrument Landing System, allowing pilots to land even when there is fog or low visibility of 50 metres.
In total, Delhi has 4 runways, 2 of which are CAT III-B compliant. In all its wisdom, the Modi government began maintenance work on one of the two CAT III-B runways in September 2023, fully aware that it would not be ready for the winter!” he said.
Scindia responded to this and said: “Runway maintenance work is a critical safety element for aviation operations, and any compromise with runway conditions directly jeopardizes passenger safety. As a result, the maintenance was taken on top priority to be completed by 15th December before the onset of the fog season. However, due to pollution incidents and enforcement of GRAP-IV in Delhi, the recarpeting got delayed, resulting in a delay of one month in its commissioning. The revamped RWY is getting operational this week.”
‘Crane blocked construction work’
Tharoor’s third post cited a media report about a crane that blocked construction work on the runway. “Even worse, a crane from some other construction work was blocking operation of CAT III-B on one runway, even after repairs were complete. Delhi Airport flagged this over 10 days ago, on Jan 5th, but no action was taken,” the Congress MP wrote. He also raised the issue of lack of sufficiently trained pilots.
Scindia clarified on the crane report and also rebutted Tharoor’s charge on pilots.
“The crane was being used for the construction of another critical infrastructure project – the Dwarka Expressway. However, in view of its impact on the runway, it has now been decided that the crane operation shall be allowed only on non-fog days. Thus, RWY 11R/29L is operational as CAT III as of yesterday.
“On sufficiently trained pilots, your claim is incorrect and baseless, as usual! As compared to only 2416 CAT II/CAT III trained pilots in 2014, today we have 6191 CAT II/CAT III trained pilots which is a jump of 2.5 times in the last 9 years. Further, in preparation for the fog season of 2023-24, due to our efforts, the number of CAT II/CAT III trained pilots have grown by 16% in the last three months alone from 5332 to 6191.
“Also, the DGCA mandates airlines to deploy CAT IIIB compliant aircraft only with qualified crew during the winter season. Any violations are strictly dealt with by the regulator, DGCA. For instance, show cause notices were issued to Spicejet and Air India, the Union aviation minister posted.
‘Why no CAT III-C runway yet?’
Tharoor’s fourth post targeted the Modi government over the abssence of CAT III-C runway.
“All the way back in 2008, the UPA government could ensure a CAT III-B runway. 16 years have passed since then, with 10 years under the present government. Still, they have yet to even plan a single CAT III-C runway. Across the world, major international airports have multiple CAT III-C runways, but India does not even have one, despite its capital city’s woeful fog & smog issues in winter. Why not?” the Congress MP posted.
Scindia responded to this attack and cited the example of JFK ( New York ) airport in the USA which he said has 4 runways, but only 1 runway is capable of CAT III landing.
“It would be prudent to know about the 3 dependent factors for CAT III Landings viz. Runway Capability, Aircraft Capability and Pilot Accreditation. And thus, CAT III operations are decided by the Highest Common Factor among the three variables. The two CAT III runways at Delhi Airport are equipped for aircraft to land with minimum visibility of up to 50 meters. However, the majority of the aircraft fleet in India viz. Airbus 320 (75 mtrs) and Boeing 737 Max (175 mtrs) have visibility minima greater than the runway threshold. Thus, even if the runway is capable and sufficiently trained CAT III pilots are made available, these aircraft are not designed for Zero Visibility operations,” Scindia posted.
“Further to give you a perspective, JFK ( New York ) airport in the USA has 4 runways, but the airport only has 1 runway capable of CAT III landing which is also with a restricted minima up to 182 mtrs (600 feet) – 3.5 times of India’s 50 mtrs! Go figure it out yourself – Enlightened, Mr Tharoor!” he added.
Taking a dig at Tharoor, Scindia started his response saying ” it is for someone who is lost in his esoteric world of thesaurus that data mining of selective press articles from the internet qualifies as research.” The Union aviation minister began by addressing Tharoor’s concerns about the recent chaos at Delhi Airport, suggesting that Tharoor’s reliance on selective press articles for information was inadequate. He then detailed the critical importance of runway maintenance for passenger safety, explaining that the maintenance was scheduled with the highest priority to be completed before the onset of the fog season. However, he acknowledged that unforeseen pollution incidents and the enforcement of GRAP-IV in Delhi led to a delay in the recarpeting of the runway, pushing its commissioning by a month.
Scindia was responding to a series of posts by Shashi Tharoor calling the recent airport chaos as “Modi govt-made disaster.”
The Congress MP started the social media exchange with a post “Delhi Airport has been in chaos recently. The young professional wanting to go home for Makar Sankranti. The Army officer excited to visit his ancestral village for Lohri. The anxious son trying to get home to take care of an unwell parent. Thousands of peoples’ lives and schedules have been disrupted by a regular, predictable, foggy winter day. It’s a Modi Govt-made disaster, a result of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s neglect and incompetence. See the thread that follows.”
Timing of airport runway repair
In his second post, Tharoor questioned the timing of airport runway repair. “In 2008, at a cost of Rs. 1,000 crore, Delhi IGI Airport got a brand-new CAT III-B compliant runway. CAT-III B is a type of Instrument Landing System, allowing pilots to land even when there is fog or low visibility of 50 metres.
In total, Delhi has 4 runways, 2 of which are CAT III-B compliant. In all its wisdom, the Modi government began maintenance work on one of the two CAT III-B runways in September 2023, fully aware that it would not be ready for the winter!” he said.
Scindia responded to this and said: “Runway maintenance work is a critical safety element for aviation operations, and any compromise with runway conditions directly jeopardizes passenger safety. As a result, the maintenance was taken on top priority to be completed by 15th December before the onset of the fog season. However, due to pollution incidents and enforcement of GRAP-IV in Delhi, the recarpeting got delayed, resulting in a delay of one month in its commissioning. The revamped RWY is getting operational this week.”
‘Crane blocked construction work’
Tharoor’s third post cited a media report about a crane that blocked construction work on the runway. “Even worse, a crane from some other construction work was blocking operation of CAT III-B on one runway, even after repairs were complete. Delhi Airport flagged this over 10 days ago, on Jan 5th, but no action was taken,” the Congress MP wrote. He also raised the issue of lack of sufficiently trained pilots.
Scindia clarified on the crane report and also rebutted Tharoor’s charge on pilots.
“The crane was being used for the construction of another critical infrastructure project – the Dwarka Expressway. However, in view of its impact on the runway, it has now been decided that the crane operation shall be allowed only on non-fog days. Thus, RWY 11R/29L is operational as CAT III as of yesterday.
“On sufficiently trained pilots, your claim is incorrect and baseless, as usual! As compared to only 2416 CAT II/CAT III trained pilots in 2014, today we have 6191 CAT II/CAT III trained pilots which is a jump of 2.5 times in the last 9 years. Further, in preparation for the fog season of 2023-24, due to our efforts, the number of CAT II/CAT III trained pilots have grown by 16% in the last three months alone from 5332 to 6191.
“Also, the DGCA mandates airlines to deploy CAT IIIB compliant aircraft only with qualified crew during the winter season. Any violations are strictly dealt with by the regulator, DGCA. For instance, show cause notices were issued to Spicejet and Air India, the Union aviation minister posted.
‘Why no CAT III-C runway yet?’
Tharoor’s fourth post targeted the Modi government over the abssence of CAT III-C runway.
“All the way back in 2008, the UPA government could ensure a CAT III-B runway. 16 years have passed since then, with 10 years under the present government. Still, they have yet to even plan a single CAT III-C runway. Across the world, major international airports have multiple CAT III-C runways, but India does not even have one, despite its capital city’s woeful fog & smog issues in winter. Why not?” the Congress MP posted.
Scindia responded to this attack and cited the example of JFK ( New York ) airport in the USA which he said has 4 runways, but only 1 runway is capable of CAT III landing.
“It would be prudent to know about the 3 dependent factors for CAT III Landings viz. Runway Capability, Aircraft Capability and Pilot Accreditation. And thus, CAT III operations are decided by the Highest Common Factor among the three variables. The two CAT III runways at Delhi Airport are equipped for aircraft to land with minimum visibility of up to 50 meters. However, the majority of the aircraft fleet in India viz. Airbus 320 (75 mtrs) and Boeing 737 Max (175 mtrs) have visibility minima greater than the runway threshold. Thus, even if the runway is capable and sufficiently trained CAT III pilots are made available, these aircraft are not designed for Zero Visibility operations,” Scindia posted.
“Further to give you a perspective, JFK ( New York ) airport in the USA has 4 runways, but the airport only has 1 runway capable of CAT III landing which is also with a restricted minima up to 182 mtrs (600 feet) – 3.5 times of India’s 50 mtrs! Go figure it out yourself – Enlightened, Mr Tharoor!” he added.
