Thursday, 5 May 2022
A Pegasus aircraft was unable to land at Ercan Airport, because of a failure in the Instrument Landing System (ILS), which allows aircraft to land safely on the runway. The plane was forced to divert to Antalya Airport, Yeniduzen reported.
The problem raised concerns over safety, and it was revealed that the visual approach slope indicator (VASI lights)* had not been lit for about two years at Ercan Airport.
Deputy Chief of Air Traffic Control Branch Özgür Ergüden, noted that the plane belonging to Pegasus Airlines could not land at Ercan Airport due to a localiser malfunction, which is part of the ILS system, and stated that the problem was resolved in a short time.
Mentioning that the VASI* lights have not been illuminated for two years at Ercan Airport, Ergüden said that although there is no problem during the day, some companies do not land at the airport if this system does not work, especially during night flights.
Civil Aviation Department Director Mustafa Sofi said that the Pegasus Airlines plane could not land due to a problem with the device card of the system called ILS, which allows planes to land in foggy weather.
Pegasus TRNC Director, Tourism Specialist Zeki Ziya stated that although there was a problem in the ILS system, the Pegasus Airlines plane attempted to land at Ercan, but was unable to do so.
Ziya also touched upon the other important security issue at Ercan Airport and complained that the VASI lights had not been turned on for a long time and that no action had been taken in this regard.
* Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) is a system of lights arranged in two separate light banks. If you see two red lights over two white lights, you’re on a glide path. Although normal glide path angles are 3 degrees, VASI lights at some airports may be as high as 4.5 degrees to give proper obstacle clearance. [Ed.]