Fog Drills at Surat Airport Rekindle Debate Over Rejected CAT-1 ILS Land

Surat | Gujarat — It seems the authorities at the Surat international airport are licking their own wounds after they rejected the need for 22.33 acres of additional land from the Gujarat government for setting up CAT-1 Instrument Landing System (ILS) and radar station. Now, the same authorities are pondering over fog preparation to assess the airport’s operational readiness during low visibility conditions in the winter season. 

A dry run for fog preparation was organised at the Surat International Airport on Monday. The detailed information given on the official Twitter handle of Airport Authority of India Surat International Airport noted that, “The aim was to simulate fog-like conditions to assess the coordination among various stakeholders and ensure safety of passengers and smooth airport operations in real fog conditions. All stakeholders including ATC, Airport Operations, Fire Services, CISF, Engineering Department, Airlines, Customs and Immigration Department actively participated in the dry run.” 

Passenger facilitation measures, inter-departmental coordination, communication systems and resource readiness were reviewed during the exercise. This exercise helped identify operational strengths and areas that require further improvement. Surat International Airport is committed to ensuring safe, secure and efficient operations, especially during challenging weather conditions.

In fact, by letting go 22.33 acres of land for runway expansion and CAT 1 Instrument Landing System and Radar Station at Surat Airport at the behest of politicians, the authorities have ended the game of making Surat Airport with international facilities like Dubai and Singapore.

After the Airport Authority of India refused to take 80,845 square meters of land requested for the CAT 1 instrument landing system and modern radar station project at Surat Airport, now if the aircraft cannot land due to low visibility during the winter fog, then the Airport Authority of India (AAI)  will have to be held responsible for refusing to take the land worth 214 crores provided free of cost by the Gujarat government. 

It is worth mentioning here that on June 2, 2025, Surat Airport Director A.N. Sharma wrote a letter to Surat Collector Saurabh Pardhi, informing him in writing that 22.33 acres of land was not required for the CAT 1 light instrument landing system and radar station of Surat Airport. 

After that, the Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company, under the Civil Aviation Department of the Government of Gujarat, acquired the land and gave it to the Airport Authority through the Gati Shakti portal. They demanded the return of Rs 100 crore deposited in the Collector’s Land Acquisition Department.