....but sadly not true for many airfields.. well, not in the UK anyway.
Really?
My Gawd, and to think, the airmail used to be flown over coloured airways, with light signals for takeoff and landing.
Whatever has the world come to...?
And now, for an actual problem.
Cairo, circa 2005.
Holding for over one hour, as the vis dropped to 400 meters at times.
Most other aircraft diverted, but our good 'ole L1011 carried an extra two hours fuel.
Why?
Because, the Captain (yours truly) decided it was a smart thing to do.
So, clerared for ILS 23L, contact tower.
As the First Officer was flying, I called the tower.
"Good morning Cairo, LN202 at 8 miles inbound, 23L." No answer.
Just at this moment, the ILS for 23L tripped off, the Cairo VOR as well...and the only navaid left was the CAI NDB, 201kc.
I called Cairo ground.
A very weak ground control informed us that a big JCB has just sliced through a quite large electrical cable, which affected all Cairo VHF communications, except....the ground control frequency, and it was 'cleared to land 23L.'
Once on the ground, ground control then wanted to know how we found the airport, as the vis was now 550 meters in blowing sand. ILS, OTS.
The answer?
Dual Honeywell HT9100 GPS units, that's how.
Dead accurate, every time.