Trials over, chopper corridors await DGCA clearance

Mumbai Authorities at Mumbai airport have completed the much-anticipated trials of dedicated helicopter corridors, the proposal of which has been awaiting clearance for more than three years. The need of such corridors had been felt afresh earlier this year after an Mi-17 helicopter from President Pratibha Patil’s troupe of three choppers narrowly missed collision with an Air India flight (IC 866) with 150 passengers on board.
“The trials are over and the reports have been sent to the director general of civil aviation (DGCA) for clearance,” said M G Jhungare, General Manager, Air Traffic Control (ATC), Mumbai.
Although a timeframe for implementation of corridors has not been fixed, a senior ATC official said the new routes would be implemented by year-end in all likelihood.
As reported earlier, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) is not in favour of helicopter movements at Mumbai airport as they slow down operations at the airport where a landing or a take-off takes place approximately every 30 seconds. The proposal for dedicated helicopter corridors has been pending with DGCA for the past three years. “There are over a dozen corridors on which testing was done. Corridors like airport to Mahalakshmi Racecourse or airport to South Mumbai are examples. Because helicopter movements have been increasing over years, there was a definite requirement for dedicated corridors so that they don’t interfere with the airport’s flight operations,” said the official.
26/10/09 Shashank Shekhar/Express India

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Categories: Airports Oct 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Oct 2009