AAI hosts event discussing civil-military cooperation on flexible use of airspace

Airports Authority of India hosted a two-day ICAO Asia Pacific Civil Military Cooperation Regional Conference here in the national capital.

Inaugurated by Director General of Civil Aviation M. Sathiyavathy, the event was attended by Rear Admiral Philipose George Pynumootil, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air) and S. Raheja, chairman of Airports Authority of India.

Delegates from Uganda, China, Malaysia, Afghanistan, IATA Singapore also participated in the event.

Experts from defence and civil aviation sectors discussed ways for the flexible use of airspace in the country.

"AAI has two main statuary functions one of air transportation and airport management and second all important provision of air navigation services. As an ANS provider AAI has always believed in collaborative decision making. Stakeholder agreement, engagement has been given utmost importance. Civil Military cooperation too is a field where AAI has continuously engaged with its military counterparts who do are involved in management of defence airports and defence air space under their control. AAI has established civil enclaves in the joint aerodromes which are defence air fields to facilitate civil operations," said Raheja.

Civil and military agencies are seeking to set up airspace management cells at major airports to ensure optimal utilisation of airspace.

There are more than 15 conditional routes at Indian air space which provide for shorter and direct routing through restricted airspace under the control of jurisdiction of Indian Air Force, Navy and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

When the air space is not used by military, it can be thrown open for civilian use which cuts down travelling time benefiting the passengers.

"There have been several levels of protocols between the military organizations and AAI and I greatly appreciate the fact several issues are sorted out through lateral interaction and communication at various management levels. The implementation of flexible use of air space in India in a structured manner has only reinforced civil military cooperation in this country. I give four major areas of focus - safety, efficiency, capacity and environment," said Raheja.

The two-day conference provided a common platform to discuss ways to improve and implement the flexible use of airspace between military and civil aviation in efficient ways.