AAI plans to integrate radars
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The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is in the process of interlinking radars of various regions to enhance air safety. India’s airspace will soon be an integrated whole, enhancing air traffic control systems and efficiency. The Times of India reported that Chennai last week became the first region to integrate radars of all major southern airports including Chennai, Trivandrum and Kochi. The Mumbai region will be next followed by Delhi and Kolkata. The full integration will be complete by the end of 2012.
Integration of radars will also ensure better surveillance of flights. “Currently, each city has its own independent radars. This is why there are gaps where the coverage of one radar ends and the other starts. These are areas where one cannot track a flight till it enters the airspace covered by the radar. Once all radars are integrated, these ‘gaps’ won’t remain. Each flight will be monitored all the time,” a senior airport official was reported saying.
With the integration of radars, the coordination between controllers of different cities will be better as aircraft positions will be relayed live for all to see at once. Once all regions integrate the radars, a common air traffic system will be worked out to manage the flow of air traffic.
“The system will highlight the progress of all flights for all centres to see. This will enable traffic controllers to gauge the exact position of a flight, delays and even the time they will take to reach the destination. In times of heavy traffic, controllers can prioritise landing queue on the basis of the information and reduce delays,” a senior AAI official said. “Implementing this full plan will take a couple of years, though,” he added.