Flights will soon take straight routes from ChennaitoMumbai,Delhi andKolkata andsavetime and fuel as pilots will not have to take detours to avoid military airspace.The aviation and defence ministries have approved flexible use of military airspace,and have set up a mechanism to allow commercial flights through restricted airspace.
When perfected and extended to other routes,the move will save time and fuel on flights connecting ChennaiwithM adurai,Bangalore andThiruvananthapuram.Flying time is likely to reduce by six to 15 minutes on different routes.Fuel savings are expected to be 20,29,380 kg a year and emissions are likely to reduce by 63,93,600 kg a year on theseven busiest routesChennai-Mumbai,Chennai-Delhi,Chennai-Kolkata,Delhi-H yderabad,Delhi-Mumbai,Delhi-Kolkata,and Delhi-B angalore.These routes have been selected because the air trafficcontrolsystem is automated andcivil and military flight plans can be shared electronically.
Flight plans are currently drawn up taking into consideration restricted zones.Air traffic controllers and military personnel swap flight plans a week in advance to ensure that commercial flights do not cross into military airspace.The new plan will make information available real-time.Air Forcehas posted senior officials in Chennai and Delhi for better coordination between ATC as partof the flexible use of airspace programme.
The ministry has revived a pending proposal.If it is extended f o r s o u t h - b o u n d flights from Chennai,passengers will save a lot of time, said an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official.
A Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram flight now flies south and turns right at Trichy to reach its destination because of the restricted zone over Hindustan AeronauticsLimitedsbase near Bangalore.Whileflying toMumbai from Chennai,pilots are asked to stay above 25,000 feet till they cross the Pune Air Force base.Chennais airspace is constricted by Tambaram Air Force station,Arakonam Naval station,and HAL.
The project was approved after we showed that six to eight minutes can be saved by such routing after air traffic was automated and upper air space was unified for smooth flow of traffic above 25,000 feet, said an official at Chennai airport.
A national high-level airspace policy body will be set up to establish flexible airspace use structure and introduce procedures for allocation of airspace.The body will be chaired by the aviation secretary and will have officials from the defence ministry,Air Force,Navy,Indian Space Research Organization,AAI and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
STRAIGHT ROUTE
ONCE FLEXI ROUTES ARE IN PLACE,FLYING IS LIKELY TO BE FASTER Civil and military radars integrated in Chennai,will be done in other regions Better coordination as flight movement can be accessed by controllers of defence and airports Military officers will be posted at the air traffic control flow management unit Military airspace will be handed over for commercial flights when there is no flying by air force
GOING IN CIRCLES
Getting permission to cut across the airspace over military installations as is the norm can be cumbersome
Flight plans provided to Air Force Liason unit to obtain clearance,and flight plans of military planes provided to air traffic control
Flight plans exchanged over phone,hotlines,aeronautical fixed telecommunication network
If military flying is on,ATC will ensure that pilots avoid the area
Plans given to ATC a week in advance to plan alternative routes
Monthly meetings between Airports Authority of India and Air Force to iron out operational difficulties
When perfected and extended to other routes,the move will save time and fuel on flights connecting ChennaiwithM adurai,Bangalore andThiruvananthapuram.Flying time is likely to reduce by six to 15 minutes on different routes.Fuel savings are expected to be 20,29,380 kg a year and emissions are likely to reduce by 63,93,600 kg a year on theseven busiest routesChennai-Mumbai,Chennai-Delhi,Chennai-Kolkata,Delhi-H yderabad,Delhi-Mumbai,Delhi-Kolkata,and Delhi-B angalore.These routes have been selected because the air trafficcontrolsystem is automated andcivil and military flight plans can be shared electronically.
Flight plans are currently drawn up taking into consideration restricted zones.Air traffic controllers and military personnel swap flight plans a week in advance to ensure that commercial flights do not cross into military airspace.The new plan will make information available real-time.Air Forcehas posted senior officials in Chennai and Delhi for better coordination between ATC as partof the flexible use of airspace programme.
The ministry has revived a pending proposal.If it is extended f o r s o u t h - b o u n d flights from Chennai,passengers will save a lot of time, said an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official.
A Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram flight now flies south and turns right at Trichy to reach its destination because of the restricted zone over Hindustan AeronauticsLimitedsbase near Bangalore.Whileflying toMumbai from Chennai,pilots are asked to stay above 25,000 feet till they cross the Pune Air Force base.Chennais airspace is constricted by Tambaram Air Force station,Arakonam Naval station,and HAL.
The project was approved after we showed that six to eight minutes can be saved by such routing after air traffic was automated and upper air space was unified for smooth flow of traffic above 25,000 feet, said an official at Chennai airport.
A national high-level airspace policy body will be set up to establish flexible airspace use structure and introduce procedures for allocation of airspace.The body will be chaired by the aviation secretary and will have officials from the defence ministry,Air Force,Navy,Indian Space Research Organization,AAI and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
STRAIGHT ROUTE
ONCE FLEXI ROUTES ARE IN PLACE,FLYING IS LIKELY TO BE FASTER Civil and military radars integrated in Chennai,will be done in other regions Better coordination as flight movement can be accessed by controllers of defence and airports Military officers will be posted at the air traffic control flow management unit Military airspace will be handed over for commercial flights when there is no flying by air force
GOING IN CIRCLES
Getting permission to cut across the airspace over military installations as is the norm can be cumbersome
Flight plans provided to Air Force Liason unit to obtain clearance,and flight plans of military planes provided to air traffic control
Flight plans exchanged over phone,hotlines,aeronautical fixed telecommunication network
If military flying is on,ATC will ensure that pilots avoid the area
Plans given to ATC a week in advance to plan alternative routes
Monthly meetings between Airports Authority of India and Air Force to iron out operational difficulties
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