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TRIAL RUN: A Kingfisher Airbus A 319 on a trial run to Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. It is the first Airbus to land in Visakhapatnam. — K. R. Deepak

Visakhapatnam May 22 The calibration of the newly installed instrument landing system (ILS) at the Visakhapatnam airport and the other preliminaries for commissioning the new 10,000-feet runway have been completed, paving the way for bigger aircraft to land here and facilitate night-landing.

However, as the airport is under the control of the Navy, the officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Navy have to hold a meeting and finally decide on commissioning these new facilities.

Sources say the Chairman of the AAI, Mr Ramalingam, is likely to visit the city for the purpose and the dates may be decided.

The commissioning of these facilities, whenever it happens, marks a milestone in the history of the airport and the growth of the city, as it is considered crucial for the growth of the industry and IT sectors. Currently, poor visibility is one of the factors dogging the airport and there is no certainty over the operation of flights.

But once the ILS is commissioned, officials say, it will be a thing of the past.

The Union Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Praful Patel, has also given an assurance that temporary customs and immigration facilities will be set up at Vizag airport, paving the way for the operation of international flights.

The Andhra Pradesh Government on its part has taken up flood control measures at a cost of Rs 60-70 crore, to divert the Meghadrigedda floodwaters and prevent the inundation of the airport during the rainy season, another recurrent problem.

More Stories on : Infrastructure | Andhra Pradesh | Airlines

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Vizag airport's new runway ready for commissioning

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