-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Wishing all Goanetters | | a Prosperous | | and | | Happy New Year - 2006 | | Goanet - http://www.goanet.org | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <A technical team of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was sent to Sydney, a rare international airport that uses criss-crossing runways for simultaneous landing and take-offs, for training. A similar set of procedures has now been drawn up for Mumbai. Since **the margin of error in simultaneous operations is minimal,** what needs to be particularly fine-tuned is coordination.
India had been trying hard with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for the past couple of years for clearance for such operations in Mumbai. ICAO, however, had pointed out **problems in the location of the ATC tower.** All this, officials said, had been taken care of, with the DGCA introducing modifications. This is one of the reasons why only take-offs have been allowed for the moment....Another major constraint is the limited ATC staff in Mumbai. ...Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel himself has indicated corporatising the ATC. With the changes on the anvil now, these** long-term measures**-including induction of more controllers-will have to be taken up urgently.> ------------ We see here the kinds of risks air passengers will be exposed to when aviation policy is changed piece meal instead of wholistically, root-and-branch in a well defined time frame. While military control over Mumbai airport may not be an issue, there is no reason why such control over 25-30% of Indian airports and a significant percentage of air traffic is ignored in favour of adding to ATC staff. We need to hear something about what is being planned to reduce the bugbear of military control esp along the lines of getting the military to move to greenfield sites (at a fraction of the cost of new civilian airports) where they wont interfere with thriving economic activity. Regarding the simultaneous use of the existing cross-runways, perhaps it is a good idea to limit the use of the secondary runway to take-offs. This gets around the problem of the misplaced control tower at one end which creates issues for landing. However there are a couple of other problems with this runway. One is its shortness of usable length (only 7200 feet out of a total of nearly 10,000 feet) coupled with the prevalence of tailwainds. The other is the hill at the other end of the runway. A third problem is reportedly the patchy runway surface which makes it a bone rattling experience while trundling down for take off. What would be the effects of all these factors on the plan to start simultaneous operations? Keep us informed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions | | | | Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages | | Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Carry and distribute Soccer Balls | --------------------------------------------------------------------------
