Mumbai: Maha Guv express need to strengthen air traffic control to cope congestion

By Rons Bantwal
Bellevision Media Network

Mumbai, 18 Sep, 2014: The Governor of Maharashtra Vidyasagar Rao on Thursday September 18 expressed the need for strengthening air traffic control system to cope up with the growing air traffic movement and to ensure safety of passengers in the country.
 
 
The Governor said with the Indian trade and economy moving forward, air traffic movement has become very complex requiring continuous monitoring of aircraft movement in space and at the time of landing and take-off. This has created a need for having a strong air traffic control system with robust design and features.

 

 

The Governor was addressing a seminar on ‘Future Air Traffic Management – Safe, Seamless and Synchronized’ organized as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of Air Traffic Controllers Guild (India) here on Thursday.
 
 
The Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild (India), a professional body of Air Traffic Controllers in India was conceived in Mumbai and established on September 18 1964.
 
 
The Governor said only 6 metro airports in the country among themselves are responsible for handling more than 70 percent of air traffic. This, he said, has led to congestion at metro airports with consequent traffic delay, high fuel consumption, growing pollution, etc.
 
 
He further said that Air traffic management has become an urgent issue to be addressed at the metro airports. ‘The challenge is to cope with increasing traffic, increasing connectivity and the need to attain higher levels of efficiency along with enhanced safety,’ he said.
 
 
The Governor called upon the ATC Guild (India) to explore the possibility of working closely with Universities in Maharashtra and starting Air Traffic Management related programmes through the Universities and Colleges.
 
 
Airports Authority of India regional executive director Anil Kumar Sharma, Air Traffic Management (ATM) western region general manager V S P Chinson, CSI Airport ATM general manager Jayant Dasgupta, ATC Guild (India) president D K Behera and general secretary M K Sinha also spoke on the occasion.