AAI attempts to reduce air congestion, cut travel time

NEW DELHI: The journey time between two airports in the country will be cut as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is deliberating on the flexible use of airspace.

NEW DELHI: The journey time between two airports in the country will be cut as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is deliberating on the flexible use of airspace.

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As air traffic continues to grow, the AAI has called for better coordination between pilots and air traffic controllers (ATC) to reduce congestion in the air.

A meet of pilots and controllers was organised to enhance safety, capacity and efficiency. “By 2022, air traffic is expected to become double. To meet the requirement, work is going on a war footing. We have tied up with the ministry of defence for flexible use of airspace,” said IN Murthy, executive director, air space management.

According to the A TC, only 30% of the airspace around Delhi is available for civil purposes and work is on to make more airspace usable. Air India CMD, Ashwini Lohani, emphasised on regular interaction between the controllers and pilots.

“I would like my pilots to visit the control room and controllers to visit the cockpit to understand the pressure,” said Lohani. Sudhir Raheja, chairman, AAI, appreciated the initiative and said it would help in reducing congestion.

Controller Vikas Bhalla, joint general manager, talked about the constraints as Delhi was surrounded by a military airbase.

“The efficiency will increase once we shift to the new ATC tower, by the end of this year. We are working towards reducing runway occupancy time through various measures,” said Bhalla.

The Delhi airport is handling almost 1,150 flight movements everyday against 964 last year. According to SC Badola, joint GM, ATC, pilots also raised concerns. Through these discussions, they were hoping to reduce congestion.