The Pudong International Airport plans to upgrade its navigation system to allow flights to land and take off in bad weather, such as dense fog, the Shanghai Airport Authority said yesterday.

The airport is currently installing and testing new navigation facilities, which will be assessed by national aviation authorities next month.

If the system is approved, it will be put into use and enable planes to land even if the visibility is below 350 meters, a visibility level that calls for a "blind landing" depending solely on instruments.

So far no airport in the country has reached that level.

"It will definitely reduce the influence of bad weather on our flights and enhance safety," said Chen Jiang, deputy director of Pudong airport's operation control center.

The new system can guide pilots to a safe landing when visibility is between 200 and 350 meters.

If visibility lower than 200 meters, as it was on Monday due to dense fog, flights will still be affected.

"First we have to pass the assessment next month," Chen said.

The Pudong airport, together with Beijing Capital International Airport and another in Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan Province, can allow landings when visibility is between 350 and 550 meters.

Planes can only land at all other airports in the country, including the Hongqiao International Airport, when the visibility is above 550 meters.

Poor visibility affects the Pudong airport up to 40 days each year. Often flights are delayed or forced to land at Hongqiao airport.

On Monday, 10 flights bound for Pudong airport were forced to land at Hongqiao airport, as visibility at Pudong airport was only 100 meters.

(Shanghai Daily November 10, 2004)