DGCA will set up to keep tabs on air-space

Mumbai: The constant terror threats to the Mumbai airport in particular and to the Indian air-space in general has hastened the process of setting up a unit of the Joint Command and Analysis Centre (JCAC) in the city. The unit, which was proposed for all metros way back in 2003, is being perceived as essential by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation Officials (DGCA) after the 26/11 terror attacks in the city.
A JCAC is a command centre with a separate radar screen to monitor aircraft movement within a city's air-space. Headed by an air-marshal level official from the Indian Air Force (IAF), it also comprises members from the Air Traffic Control (ATC) to co-ordinate and keep surveillance over both defence and civil aircraft movement. From flight plans to actual aircraft operation, all details are tallied, logged and scrutinised by a JCAC.
"At a time when terror threats to the air-space are recurrent, the need for this unit is felt much more. The unit would be dedicated to keep surveillance and to notify any suspicious or unnatural movement in the sky to ensure safety,'' said a traffic controller.
According to officials, the DGCA has already asked the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) to create space to accommodate the unit within the ATC tower.
"The demand to chalk out a space has been made. However, since the ATC tower, too, has to be shifted according to the new airport masterplan, the allocation may take a little longer than usual. The process to set it up has been quickened after the attacks, said a DGCA official.
23/02/09 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Feb 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Feb 2009, Safety Feb 2009