DGCA asks airlines to change call signs after mid-air panic

The civil aviation ministry had taken several steps last year to increase safety in Indian skies

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Some time in 2014, two aircraft belonging to two different airlines but with similar call signs came uncomfortably close to each other while in the Kolkata airspace. An accident was averted but the panic it created was enough for the Air Traffic Control (ATC) to write to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ensure no two flights operating under the same airport should have similar-sounding call signs.

Following this, the regulator formed a committee to suggest steps to avoid such situations.  A senior DGCA official explained that in some regions, aircraft communication is simultaneously handled by different authorities — Airports Authority of India (AAI), defence authorities and sometimes a foreign nation. Call signs are used by pilots and ground controllers to identify aircraft. “In the instance of border areas like northeast, the communication shifts from the AAI, Indian Air Force and Bangladesh. In case of pockets in south India such as Andaman & Nicobar Islands, it passes from the AAI to Sri Lanka,” said the official, adding: “The committee has recorded incidents in these areas, which can lead to serious threats.”

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The committee, headed by DGCA chief M Sathiyavathy, is to give its report by March 18. “This is a critical issue that has been raised by the ATC numerous times. So, the regulator has decided to form a committee comprising representatives from airlines, Delhi International Airport Limited and AAI to change the call signs of airlines, which can lead to such confusion,” said the official cited above.

The committee is studying the international practice of naming airlines to set up a rule book. “The panel is studying how Europe and West Asia deal with this issue, as those regions face the same problem,” the official added.

According to the panel, aircraft of the same airline operating in the same region should not have call signs ending with the same last two digits. The committee has also decided that call signs ending with 0 or 5 will not be allowed.

“The altitude a plane is to fly at is conveyed by the ATC in figures ending in zero and heading or direction in which a plane should go is given in figures ending in five. So, we have asked airlines to avoid these call signs,” the official explained.

The aviation ministry had last year taken several steps to increase safety in Indian skies after the International Civil Aviation Organization decided to have a safety audit.

PLANNING CORRECTIVE MEASURES

• Flights of two airlines with   similar call signs came uncomfortably close to each other while in the Kolkata airspace in 2014
   
• An accident was averted but enough panic created for the issue to be take up
   
• Regulator formed a committee to suggest steps to avoid such situations in future
   
• Committee to have representatives from airlines, Delhi International Airport Limited and the Airports Authority of India to change the call signs of airlines
   
• Committee is studying the international practice of naming airlines to set up a rule book; report to be submitted by March 18