Recently in response to an article in BUSINESSWORLD on Indian air traffic
control I posted some comments on Indian aviation in a series on their
website. The first of these was published as a Letter to the Editor in
slightly edited form in the Sept 12 issue. The following is a copy/paste of
all my comments for your information. Note the reverse chronological order
(first is last). Any response would be appreciated --Phil.
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Reply by: Philip Thomas on 8/26/2005 6:43:58 AM
One final bit regarding the militarys goings on at our airports. The case
of Pune is similar to that of Goa and also differs in some crucial respects.
Punes Lohegaon airport is under Air Force control for Sukhoi training
purposes. Local industry has been pressing for an increase in watch hours
which seems to have finally come through thanks to pressure from state
politicians like Suresh Kalmadi¸ Sharad Pawar and civil aviation minister
Praful Patel. But the catch is that AAI has to concede something to IAF in
border areas like Gujarat and the North East.
With the Navy there is no scope for such bargaining in Goa. The only
possibility may be when Mopa comes up in north Goa. Maybe it will concede
something at Dabolim in exchange for access to Mopa. But this is in the
realm of speculation. There is no discussion in the media about Dabolim and
Mopa. The public is likely to be presented with a fait accompli.
BUSINESSWORLD must take up cudgels on behalf of the Indian travelling public
to illuminate the whole issue of the militarys baneful influence on our
aviation sector. There is a crying need for effective joint operation in key
airports for low cost air travel.
Reply by: Philip Thomas on 8/24/2005 5:25:22 AM
Goa¸ the de facto tourism capital of India¸ provides a case study in the
drag created by the military on Indian aviation. Dabolim airport with a
runway as big as that of Mumbai and Delhi has been controlled for about 4
decades by the Navy. It blocks off prime daylight hours on the runway for
the training of pilots who eventually operate from aircraft carriers. This
leads to unnecessary bunching of civilian flights and a marked reduction in
capacity. Just down the coast the Navy has a huge new base called Seabird.
But the airfield there is only provisional. For all practical purposes¸ the
Navy intends to operate mainly from Dabolim for the foreseeable future. Now
there is talk of a greenfield airport to be built at Mopa in North Goa. This
is in the offing for nearly 10 years. The fear is that as soon as Mopa is
launched civilian flights at Dabolim wll be discontinued. Airline flights in
Goa cannot afford to be disrupted in this manner. Goa needs both civilian
airports -- Dabolim and Mopa. But it is anybodys guess as to who will take
the lead to ensure that Goas aviation needs are adequately served. The
media needs to publicise this sorry state of aviation sector management.
Reply by: Philip Thomas on 8/23/2005 1:39:29 AM
Further to my yesterdays comments regarding the need to reconsider the
discontinuation of civilian flights at defence airfields when greenfield
airports are commissioned¸ I just realised that BUSINESSWORLD itself called
for this measure not very long ago. It had said that civilian flights at
Bangalore and Hyderabad airports should continue even after the new airports
come on stream. (It even proposed the same for Kochi Naval airstation but
that may have been a bit far fetched. A couple of decades hence¸ however¸
the need is sure to be felt at Kochi).
It s possible that the military is not the main source of objection to
continuation of civilian flights though they would probably dearly love to
have an airfield all to themselves. The military might be making good money
from airport charges without ploughing much back to improve amenities. The
main driver of the partitioning might be the private airport builder who
would want naturally to capture all traffic at the new facility. These
agreements may have to be reviewed and reconsidered in the interests of low
cost civil aviation which seems a must in India.
Reply by: Philip Thomas on 8/22/2005 1:35:32 AM
Apropos the article "Danger in the air"¸ the results are a bit unsatisfying.
You have not taken a comprehensive view before concluding that air traffic
management and navigational aids are the problem. Part of the reason for
this inadequacy lies in the persistent blindspot about military control over
our aviation infrastructure which is vaguely mentioned in passing. This
affects not only about a quarter of our airports but most of our air
corridors. Until the veil of military control is lifted decisively we will
contnue to thrash about ineffectually for solutions to aviation
infrastructure problems.
There is a related aspect which is also crying out for attention. The knee
jerk reaction of aviation policy is to opt for greenfield airports whenever
there is conflict between civilian use and military use at defence
airfields. This is a high cost and time consuming solution at a time when
the need is for low cost aviation. By all means build greenfield airports.
But lets not indiscriminately shut down civilian flights at close-in
airfields just to get out of the militarys way. Effective joint management
needs to be introduced at key facilities soonest.
