Runway 2 used by 3K flights sans adequate fire safety for 6 months
The audit, done in October 2024 found the airport had only four crash fire tenders instead of the stipulated six — three each for the main runway and secondary runway. There was only one fire tender for the secondary runway, that too had suffered multiple technical snags and failed to meet the requirements.
"At least three fire tenders were unserviced and lacked equipment, and a non-functional dry chemical powder tender was deployed as a responding vehicle for several days," said the report.
It also noted that two fire tenders in use since 2008 were past their shelf life of 10 years.
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The survey highlighted 63 safety parameters as unsatisfactory, including three 'level-1 lapses' to be complied with on a priority basis before Nov 2024. The task and resource analysis (TRA) for Chennai airport was not updated after 2022 in line with the simultaneous operations on the runways.
Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) Services is the first line of defence during any aircraft-related emergency at airports.
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Their role spans rescue, fire control, passenger safety, and coordination, making them vital to aviation safety and disaster preparedness. They are aligned with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) and DGCA standards to respond to the situation and initiate rescue operations within three minutes.
DGCA said ambulances stationed at the airport were past their expiry date. Other deficiencies included expired proximity suits, inadequate breathing apparatus for firefighters, and lower quality of foam used to extinguish fire.
An airport official said the airport needed just three fire tenders as per DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), but it had an additional tender. "We responded to the DGCA report and addressed the lapses. The ambulances were replaced in June this year, and two new crash fire tenders were added in May," said an official.
Reply to an RTI application revealed reduced simultaneous operations on the two runways after the DGCA report.
While the number of flights operated from the secondary runway ranged from 700 to 950 between April and Oct, it came down to around 300 in the following months as flights were operated on the secondary runway when the main runway was closed for operations twice weekly.
Captain Ranganathan, a former pilot and air safety expert, said that ARFF, unlike other fire services, is not about precaution but a mandatory procedure. "For even abnormalities during take-off and landing of flights, the airport should be prepared for crash landing, for which the ARFF should be ready to respond," he said. He recalled the Air France crash at Chennai airport in 1999 and the Air India Express flight crash in Mangaluru in 2010 and said the casualties would have been fewer had the ARFF teams reached the site immediately.
DGCA can initiate action for not complying with 'level-1 lapses' beyond the deadline, he said.
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