IMPROVED RADIO COMMUNICATION FOR SAFER FLIGHTS AT IGIA

NEWDELHI: If you’re flying in or out of Delhi, you flight schedule is likely to be safer and more accurate soon. Officials at the Delhi’s IGI airport, in coordination with pilots, are working to cut unwanted and convoluted exchange of information between pilots and the air traffic control that leads to confusion. They are also working to improve the quality of radio communication.

Representatives of the air traffic control (ATC), Airports Authority of India officials and pilots met on Tuesday to sort out issues which lead to unwarranted delays and confusion causing accidents or near misses.

According to a document accessed by HT, some of the major points discussed during the meeting were further sub-division of the air space, improving RCAG (Remote Communications Air/ground) and standardising speed control.

“While sub-division of the airspace would cut pressure on each controller, it might also require additional man power. If done, this would bring down workload on controllers leading to easier management. At the same time, improvement in use of RCAG will enhance range of quality of radio communication frequency between pilot and controllers. The quality of communication is not as good at present and there are certain blind spots, which will be covered,” a senior officer from the Delhi Air Traffic Control said.

Explaining the benefits of standardising speed control, the officer said, “When a plane is about to take off or land it is given a specified speed that is to be maintained to keep a safe distance between two aircraft. Currently, the practice is not diligently followed. It does not affect safety much, but if followed, would help in improving flow of traffic. It also makes job of the ATC easier,” he said.

Another officer who spoke to HT, said the meeting was more of a discipline meeting to ensure smooth conversation between a pilot and a controller, cutting down unwanted and convoluted exchange of information that leads to confusion. “Such confusions eventually lead to untoward incidents at airports as well as in airspace,” the officer said.

There have been a number of incidents at the Delhi airport. While pilots were held responsible by DGCA for an incident in which a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai had bounced with its nose-up higher than the normal on initial touchdown at Dhaka International Airport last year, lack of co-ordination between the ATC controllers was stated as a reason for the near collision between two aircraft at Delhi airport in 2016.