ATCs to get unified by June

Mumbai: The Air Traffic Control (ATC) in India is all set to operate independently on the lines of the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) in the United Kingdom.
The proposal to make the ATC an autonomous body separate from Airports Authority of India (AAI), was made almost a decade ago. AAI officials said that the change is likely to happen in June this year. All airports will be integrated under one umbrella and coordination between traffic controls will be enhanced. A senior AAI official said that the independent body is likely to be called Air Navigation System (ANS). The process to create ANS picked up pace three years ago and is now in full swing. Officials said that the ANS would be an independent body accountable only to the civil aviation ministry.
It will work under licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which itself likely to change into Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) eventually. AAI, which is currently doubling as an airport developer and ATC service provider, will only be responsible for infrastructure. The process of licencing controllers in the country has already started as part of preparation for ANS.
"The ANS will manage air traffic and communications navigation and surveillance (CNS) system," said a senior AAI official.
An autonomous status would mean that the ANS can look exclusively at the requirements of air traffic and address them as soon as possible.
"Currently, every move that the ATC makes has to go through AAI and then to other authorities concerned. The ANS will be able to make decisions and then get them sanctioned from the ministry or DGCA directly,'' revealed a ministry official.
29/01/11 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2011, New Jan 2011