CAAS allows more time between flight takeoffs and landings due to haze

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said its air traffic controllers are allowing more time between flight takeoffs and landings because of visibility concerns.

Responding to queries from MediaCorp News, CAAS said this is to ensure the safety of flight operations at Changi Airport.

CAAS explained that the Runway Visual Range (RVR) reading has dropped to levels lower than 1500 metres due to the haze shrouding the country.

RVR is a measurement of the horizontal visibility along the runway or the range over which the pilot of an aircraft can see along the runway.

CAAS said a high PSI may cause the RVR value to fall and therefore may impact flight operations.

CAAS added that Changi Airport has facilities and procedures to allow safe landing of aircraft in low visibility conditions in accordance with international standards.

CAAS noted that there have not been any significant delays in flight departures and arrivals even with the added precautionary step taken.

It said during the prolonged period of haze in 1997, the lowest RVR reading at Changi Airport was about 800 metres.

Changi Airport remained open for flight operations at that time.

SOURCE

Visibility dropping below 1500m is quite a significant change considering Singapore usually experience pretty fair weather. The haze situation here is pretty bad with the forests still burning in Sumatra, and it is expect to continue for the rest of this week. But passengers need not worry, the instruments will be the pilots' eyes, reducing the chance of human error causing any mishap.