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Haneda airport is set to upgrade its Instrument Landing System (ILS) from the present Category II to Category III following cancellation of hundred over flights due to dense fog last week. Last Thursday in the morning, an area of warm, moist air flowed into the Kanto region from the south, which cooled over Tokyo Bay, caused fog to flow into coastal areas. Resulting in bad visibility, paralizing aircraft movements at Tokyo’s Haneda airport and forcing most airlines to cancel flights or to reroute them, disrupting thousands of travelers.

An upgrade to CAT-III instrument landing approach procedures would allow aircraft to begin approach with close to zero visibility, landing in the densest fog, said Mr Maihara, the transport minister. Haneda airport, which is now operating a CAT-II approach and landing system will progressively upgrade for operations under CAT-III conditions. This will enable aircraft to make an approach and land under extremely low visibility conditions up to visibility minima of 30 meters and below, or having no decision height and no runway visual range limitations, as against the current visibility minima of 30 meters and a runway visual range not less than 300 meters (350 meters for certain aircrafts) for CAT-II operations.

The upgrade help optimize operational capability, greatly reduce disruptions caused by weather, reaffirming Haneda’s commitment, is also viewed by many as an essential component for positioning Haneda airport as an International hub.