Defence airspace may be partially opened up by next year end

New Delhi: The Indian defence airspace might be opened up partially by next year end to cater to the growing civilian air traffic, a top aviation official said today."Almost 30 per cent of the total (Indian) airspace is controlled by defence. This can be opened up for flexible and dual use by next year end," AAI Chairman V P Aggarwal said.Currently, the defence airspace is completely out of the purview of civilian air traffic.Discussions have been going on for over three years between the ministries of Defence and Civil Aviation on dual use of defence airspace due to the high growth in civilian air traffic but no agreement has been reached as yet.Addressing a seminar on civil aviation organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce here, he said the AAI (Airports Authority of India) was going full steam in developing Kolkata, Chennai and 35 non-metro airports across the country.While the newly-developed airport in Lucknow would be commissioned in the next three months, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore would soon have new terminals soon."Generally, the upgraded and modernised terminals are being constructed six times bigger than the existing ones," Aggarwal said.
29/07/10 PTI/IBN Live

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jul 2010, New Jul 2010