The Hindu : Front Page : Flexibility in use of airspace likely

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Thursday, May 01, 2008
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Flexibility in use of airspace likely

Ananth Krishnan

CHENNAI: The Ministries of Civil Aviation and Defence are currently working out a system to introduce more flexibility in the use of airspace around the country. The first-of-its-kind arrangement, which will be introduced for the first time in Chennai on a trial basis, will allow commercial aircraft to chalk out routes through so far restricted zones and is expected to significantly ease air traffic congestion around India’s crowded metro airports.

A co-ordinating centre will be set up in Chennai that will be in constant communication with defence bases in Tambaram, Sulur near Coimbatore, Hakimpet in Andhra Pradesh and Yelahanka in Karnataka to work out more flexible arrangements for sharing airspace based on the short-term requirements of both civil and defence operations.

Around 35 per cent of airspace in the country is currently under the control of the Ministry of Defence and restricted from civilian use. With a booming aviation industry growing at close to 30 per cent, the Ministry of Civil Aviation believes it requires more airspace to decongest airports as well as introduce new routes.

Common problem

Air traffic congestion is a common problem around metro airports — in peak hours, aircraft often wait in queues of more than 25 before getting clearance for landing, in the process also burning aviation turbine fuel and significantly increasing operating costs.

The arrangement is of particular relevance to Chennai, where the airspace restricted to Defence use is significantly higher than the national average. The Indian Air Force base in Tambaram lies only six miles south of Meenambakkam, while the naval air strip at Arakkonam lies several miles further to the north-west.

The Tambaram space, which extends up to 15 miles inland and 80 miles down the coast up to an elevation of 25,000 feet, is particularly a problem for air traffic management in Chennai.

“Aircraft cannot come 10 miles within the airport from the south,” an airport official said. “Airlines are also forced to burn more fuel as they cannot chart direct routes through the restricted space.”

Air traffic controllers welcome a more flexible arrangement.

For instance, controllers suggest that reducing the elevation of the defence space around Tambaram to 15,000 feet to allow more direct access to the airport from the south and increasing the elevation as and when required, would bring significant relief to air traffic management.

Last month, the Ajay Prasad Committee — constituted by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to formulate a master plan for future air navigation services — recommended that “the Flexible Use of Airspace should be accepted as an underline basis for optimising the use of Indian airspace for meeting the needs of both military and civil aviation for the country.”

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