Flights from OR Tambo continue to be delayed

[Newsfeed]

Flights from OR Tambo continue to be delayed

Flights from OR Tambo are set to be delayed for the remainder of the day, following heavy fog this morning.

 

[kianm]

Better safe than sorry, I'd put up with the delays if I were affected

 

[NarrowBandFtw]

Better safe than sorry, I'd put up with the delays if I were affected

The thing is there are systems in place to make landing in heavy fog a non-event:
- an ILS beacon in the runway
- modern airplane navigational aids
- pilots have to be able to land in zero visibility anyway to get a licence AFAIK

Not sure why those aren't good enough / in working order in South Africa, I've been delayed to/from Cape Town twice because of heavy fog and never could understand this fog excuse.

 

[f2wohf]

The thing is there are systems in place to make landing in heavy fog a non-event:
- an ILS beacon in the runway
- modern airplane navigational aids
- pilots have to be able to land in zero visibility anyway to get a licence AFAIK

Not sure why those aren't good enough / in working order in South Africa, I've been delayed to/from Cape Town twice because of heavy fog and never could understand this fog excuse.

ATC increases the space between planes in case of fog, in case one needs to make a go around.

 

[genetic]

Not sure why those aren't good enough / in working order in South Africa, I've been delayed to/from Cape Town twice because of heavy fog and never could understand this fog excuse.

It's a safety thing. Airports around the world delay flights when there is heavy fog. It's a visibility issue. Also, this is not unique to SA.

Maybe read up on the subject a bit;

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/trav...ow-fog-causes-flight-delays-and-cancellations

 

[NarrowBandFtw]

ATC increases the space between planes in case of fog, in case one needs to make a go around.

Increased space I can understand, but the cases where I've been delayed due to fog there was no plane allowed to land full stop, which I thought is weird for an airport equipped with ILS.

Maybe read up on the subject a bit;
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/trav...ow-fog-causes-flight-delays-and-cancellations

Ah, the bit I hadn't considered before is "once on the tarmac" i.e. visibility issues after you've landed safely.

 

[FrankieK]

Increased space I can understand, but the cases where I've been delayed due to fog there was no plane allowed to land full stop, which I thought is weird for an airport equipped with ILS.


Ah, the bit I hadn't considered before is "once on the tarmac" i.e. visibility issues after you've landed safely.

A start to understanding these types of delays would be to read this document:

http://flightservicebureau.org/wp-c...oc4444-Pans-Atm-16thEdition-2016-OPSGROUP.pdf

Especially Chapters 7 and 8.

Once that is understood one can move on to IMC, LVPs, Cat II or III a, b or c ILS, Localizer Sensitive Areas, after go-around separation and the likes.

That will cover the ground part of the problem. Next up will the in the air part of the problem

 

[Sean008]

I'd rather be delayed, period !

 

[sand_man]

Drove in it this morning!! Twas heavy!!

[video=youtube;4waJL4-b3D8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4waJL4-b3D8[/video]

 

[twaatie]

Increased space I can understand, but the cases where I've been delayed due to fog there was no plane allowed to land full stop, which I thought is weird for an airport equipped with ILS.


Ah, the bit I hadn't considered before is "once on the tarmac" i.e. visibility issues after you've landed safely.

There is different levels for landing depending on the fog "thickness" and other factors that go into landing.

So if it's too heavy no amount of equipment will make it able to land