Blame BIA if your flight gets delayed

Blame BIA if your flight gets delayed

Bosky Khanna. Bangalore

Flight delay? Don't blame the rain, blame the Bangalore airport's bad rain measuring skills instead. The Bengaluru International Airport (BIA)has a Rs 2-crore state-of-the-art weather monitoring system in place, but it is of little or no use during monsoons.
Without a proper rain gauge, most pilots landing at BIA during monsoons have to struggle with wind-speed, air pressure and cloud cover. A rain gauge helps pilots measure the amount of liquid precipitation, which helps pilots locate runways during heavy rainfall when visibility is very low.
BIA has been struggling with flight delays, which become worse during the monsoons. The absence of a rain gauge not only disrupts fight movements but also increases the possibility of mishaps. "There have been instances when visibility has been reduced due to heavy rainfall and pilots fail to see the runway. In such cases, we inform the pilots and ask them to take alternate routes," said an ATC official at BIA.