Back to the queue for wasting time on tarmac

Calcutta: Tough take-off guidelines and a technological leap are set to help flights out of the city beat the traffic jam on the tarmac.
The first change could take effect in a month, forcing aircraft lined up for departure to come out of the parking bay and start taxiing within five minutes of clearance from air traffic control (ATC).
According to a circular from the directorate-general of civil aviation, any aircraft that fails to adhere to the new norms would need to queue up all over again and await clearance, subject to availability of take-off slots.
“This is meant to force airlines to adhere to their scheduled take-off time. Any delay will place them in a long queue,” said an airport official.
Runway procedures are poised to become even smoother after a precision-based navigation system called Air Traffic Flow Management is put in place by next year. “We are planning to install the system in all major airports. The costs and other details are being worked out,” a senior official of the Airports Authority of India told Metro from Delhi on Sunday.
The navigation system is similar to Eurocontrol’s Central Flow Management Unit, widely used in European countries and some Asian airports like Bangkok and Singapore.
02/08/10 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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Categories: airports aug 2010