Civilian aircraft can fly in restricted airspace

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force has permitted civilian flights in restricted airspace above the Hyderabad skies, a senior IAF official has stated. Assistant chief of air staff operations (space) Air Vice-Marshal D.C. Kumaria said on Friday that the IAF had permitted civilian flights above level 240 (above 24,000 ft.) in the skies above Hyderabad. This is because there are IAF flights at low altitudes also in the Hyderabad skies, he added.
IAF sources said that Air Force trainees at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal (25 km from Hyderabad) train in their aircraft and hence fly at low altitudes. Air Vice-Marshal Kumaria said that the IAF is committed to flexible use of the airspace and had opened almost all its aerodromes for civilian use. He added that civilian-military cooperation with sharing of airspace, was growing as can be seen by measures such as establishment of the Joint Regional Air Traffic Coordination Centre at the Chennai airport.
Air Vice-Marshal Kumaria also said that the IAF was even sharing the airspace above its base at Hindon (near Delhi) with civilian flights so that this can ease air-congestion above the New Delhi IGI airport.
25/07/08 Sridhar Kumaraswami/AsianAge/Howrah News Service

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jul 2008