Ajay Prasad committee submits master plan on country's air space management

New Delhi: The Ajay Prasad committee, set up to formulate a master plan for Next Generation Futuristic Air Navigation Services, has submitted its report to the minister for civil aviation, Praful Patel, according to a statement from the ministry. The committee, with Ajay Prasad as its chairman, was set up on 20 March 2007.

Air navigation services
According to the ministry statement, the committee has made several recommendations on various aspects of air navigation services. The committee has recommended:

• That the Airports Authority of India (AAI) should immediately implement the international standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which stipulates that Air Traffic Flow Management shall be implemented for airspace where air traffic demand at times exceeds capacity.
•  It has stressed that automation is essential and that there are a number of solutions available like terminal automation, integrated automation, intergraded oceanic, strategic flight planning across airspace etc.

Airspace management
The committee has recommended:

• That AAI should consolidate airspace from the four Flight Information Regions (FIRs), currently existing, to two FIRs with two Area Control Centres - one at Delhi and the other at Mumbai.
• That the airspace should be an integrated one with automated Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems that have networked radars and Very High Frequency (VHF) communications.
• That the AAI should immediately review Air Traffic Control (ATC) procedures being followed at various airports, especially at metro airports, and initiate such action, which would increase their capacity to handle air traffic. It says that AAI should undertake this as a continuous exercise and strive to optimize procedures.
• That the AAI should also implement these Area Navigation and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures at Mumbai and Delhi as soon as they are finalized.
• That an ATC delay of more than five minutes should be considered as significant and the capacity to handle the air traffic should be determined accordingly.  Once a capacity is analyzed scientifically, the system should not be overloaded.

Communication Systems
As for Voice Communication Systems (VCS), the committee has said that:

• The AAI plan to complete VHF coverage through out the continental space at a height of 20,000 feet and above should be implemented on a priority basis by May 2008.  
•  In order to meet international standards, as laid down by ICAO, AAI should provide VHF coverage in Area Control Centres which have been declared as Class 'D' airspace and are required to provide VHF coverage to all Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flights.
• That AAI should use the Dedicated Satellite Communication Network (DSCN) for operating the Remote Control Air to Ground (RCAG) VHF equipments. 
• That AAI should upgrade the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) facility to Digital Automatic Information Service (DATIS) facility, having both voice and data link capabilities at the earliest.
• That the AAI should provide data link applications for departure clearances and facility for data communication link to communicate with all air traffic service units - especially for Mumbai and Delhi by August 2008.

Navigation Systems
As for navigation systems, the committee has said that area navigation and the Required Navigation Performance (RNP) routes, which significantly enhance the capacity of air space, should be adopted by AAI for both domestic and international routes.

The AAI should, on a priority basis, design and provide approaches with vertical guidance for runways not equipped with Instrumental Landing Systems (ILS). The AAI should also install Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) at Delhi and Mumbai airports. 

Surveillance Systems
On Surveillance Systems, the committee has recommended that the AAI should operationalise the Behrampur Radar immediately by using dedicated Satellite Communication System.  It has said that the AAI should install all ten radars on a priority basis as it helps reducing the spacing of aircraft and increasing airspace capacity. 

It said that the AAI should also network all radars by 2008-09, and that the ten new radars being procured should be commissioned into the network permitting them to operate from the Area Control Centres of Delhi and Mumbai.

On Air Traffic Services (ATSs), the Committee has said that the Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs) should be provided standardized functional capabilities of Air Traffic Services support systems like conflict prediction, detection, advisory and resolution needs.

Flexible use of airspace
The committee has recommended that Flexible Use of Airspace should be accepted as the underlying basis for optimizing use of airspace to meet the needs of both military and civil aviation of the country, as accepted by the ministry of defence and the Indian Air Force (IAF).  It has asked that a high-level committee of the Government should be constituted for common and flexible use of Indian airspace. 

The committee also feels that the IAF should review its Restricted and Danger Areas norms expeditiously. 

As a first step, the airspace above 29,000 feet could be released for civil traffic in the presently defined restricted/danger airspace.  The defence requirements would have a priority of not only increasing their height requirements but also expanding the restricted airspace, whenever required.

To divert the planned civilian traffic and not to cause undue hardship to passengers, a notice of at least 24 hours would need to be given.  The normal air defence traffic would continue to use the upper airspace above 29,000 feet along with the civilian air traffic as at present.

Weather Services
As for aviation related weather services, the committee has stressed upon the necessity for seamless bi-directional flow of Met-data between the meteorological department and the AAI. In this regard it has recommended the setting up of a National Aviation Meteorological Centre (NAMC) under the Indian Meteorological Department to meet aviation weather requirements of all stakeholders. 

There should a provision of web based meteorological briefing system to enable user agencies to have direct access to weather information. 

The committee has also recommended clear demarcation of the dual functional responsibilities of AAI as an 'Aerodrome Operator' and of an Air Navigation Service provider. 

The ministry of civil aviation will now consider the recommendations made by the committee.