New Delhi: Even after seven decades of Independence and several attempts by the government, including a recent initiative in May, India has failed to drop VT—it stands for Viceroy Territory—from its aircraft registration codes.
These codes are stamped prominently on the side of all civilian aircraft to indicate their nationalities and models.
As per international aviation rules, every civilian aircraft must have this call sign—an alpha-numeric code containing one or two letters (country code), followed by a series of numbers (carrier code) chosen by the airliner. India got its country code VT back in 1929, a mark of the British Raj that has not changed in all these years.
According to a senior civil aviation ministry official, who requested anonymity, the National Democratic Alliance government did try again to find a suitable code that will corroborate with the country’s name, but the negotiations had to be shelved as there is no code available that can be distinctly identified with India. Interestingly, British planes fly under codes beginning with ‘G’, referring to Great Britain.
The country codes were modelled after a radio call system set up in 1912 by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which governs global use of the radio airwaves. Under the ITU system, countries, regions or colonies were then allocated specific letters that they could employ to label radio users in their territories. Changing the country code means seeking fresh approval from the ITU for a new radio-call range.
28/08/16 Sanjay Singh/VCCircle
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These codes are stamped prominently on the side of all civilian aircraft to indicate their nationalities and models.
As per international aviation rules, every civilian aircraft must have this call sign—an alpha-numeric code containing one or two letters (country code), followed by a series of numbers (carrier code) chosen by the airliner. India got its country code VT back in 1929, a mark of the British Raj that has not changed in all these years.
According to a senior civil aviation ministry official, who requested anonymity, the National Democratic Alliance government did try again to find a suitable code that will corroborate with the country’s name, but the negotiations had to be shelved as there is no code available that can be distinctly identified with India. Interestingly, British planes fly under codes beginning with ‘G’, referring to Great Britain.
The country codes were modelled after a radio call system set up in 1912 by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which governs global use of the radio airwaves. Under the ITU system, countries, regions or colonies were then allocated specific letters that they could employ to label radio users in their territories. Changing the country code means seeking fresh approval from the ITU for a new radio-call range.
28/08/16 Sanjay Singh/VCCircle
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