Airports facing 50% ATC shortfall

India's two largest airports - Delhi and Mumbai - have just 100 air traffic controllers guiding 500 planes daily, nearly 40-50 per cent short of the requirement. The 87 domestic airports have just 1,000 air traffic controllers, grossly inadequate for the booming aviation sector. At 2,500 flights per day, India needs a minimum of 2,500 ATCs. Yet, an official from the Airport Authority India (AAI) admitted that no ATCs have been recruited in the last five years.
ATCs co-ordinate movements of aircraft, keep them at safe distances from each other and direct them during take-off and landing, thereby ensuring smooth traffic flow with minimal delays. The shortfall not only compromises air traffic safety but also poses a question mark over future expansion plans of domestic carriers.
With the domestic airlines asking the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for permission to operate 40 per cent additional flights this summer, taking the daily total to 3,500, up from 2,500 in the summer of 2006, this shortage is set to become acute. Additional flights would add to the work pressure of the existing ATCs, since there would be 600 flights each day over Mumbai and Delhi airports this summer.
19/04/07 Shaheen Mansuri/Express TravelWorld

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Categories: Airports Apr 2007, Safety Apr 2007