Mangalore International Airport introduces 24hr radar service

Mangalore International Airport introduces 24hr radar service

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, August 31: Director of Mangalore International Airport M. R. Vasudeva informed that the airport will extend its radar service from the current 19 hours per day to 24 hours per day with effect from Wednesday. Aircraft within a radius of 256 nautical miles from Mangalore International Airport can avail of this continuous radar service.

He said that the extended radar facility will be of great use for flights to Kochi, Kozhikode, Coimbatore, and Panjim Airports as well as for Mangalore International Airport, and added that the radar service will partially benefit the Bangalore International Airport too.

The presence of mono-pulse secondary surveillance radar at the airport will prevent collision of aircraft in flight while maintaining orderly flow of air traffic, said Mr. Vasudeva. The radar service is currently unavailable between the hours of 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

The airport will also start imposing user development fees (UDF) on passengers boarding flights at Mangalore International Airport on September 1. Currently, the UDF is Rs. 150 per passenger in the domestic route and Rs. 825 per passenger in the international route. The UDF will be collected when passengers book the tickets; and the fees will later be remitted to the Airports Authority of India.

The airport will set up special counters from Wednesday to facilitate passengers who had booked their tickets well in advance to pay the UDF. Mr. Vasudeva said that the UDF will be collected for a period of 10 years.