Smog means pilots flying to Beijing need blind landing rating

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-12-13

The docking area at Nanjing Lukou International Airport. (Photo/Xinhua)

From the first day of the new year, pilots flying domestically to Beijing from China's top 10 municipal airports must be capable of performing a second-category blind landing. The requirement comes as the smog thickens around the capital, according to a decree issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Spring Airlines, China's leading budget carrier, reported on Dec. 10 that 80% of its pilots are now proficient in such a landing, or landing via instrumental assistance at a time when visibility is poor.

Half of the pilots of China Eastern Airlines are capable of second-category blind landing, while the great majority of pilots for Juneyao Airlines have completed training. Most pilots flying large long-haul aircraft, such as A330 and B767, were originally required to possess the skills for a blind landing, though their is no national requirement to obtain a domestic flying license.

Pilots without the requisite skills are currently being asked to land at a standby airport during bad weather, which filters out a great amount of domestic carriers when compared to international flights.

Growing numbers of local pilots come with such capabilities, thanks to the provision of cram courses by domestic airlines. The punctuality of domestic flights has increased markedly, mainly by reducing the influence of smoggy weather.

With the exception of Shanghai Pudong Airport, Beijing Capital Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, most domestic airports are not equipped with blind-landing assistance facilities, which are quite expensive.

The CAAC, however, has planned to require eight airports with an annual passenger traffic exceeding 20 million passenger/trips and 18 airports with passenger traffic of 5-20 million to install second-category or third category-blind landing facilities.