http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=271527&ssid=50&sid=BUS
IAF, civil aviation for integrated airspace management Mumbai, Jan 27: A settlement of the airspace sharing problem between Indian Air Force and the civil aviation sector could soon be a reality with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel assuring that the two sides were considering more integration for better management of the country's airpace. "I can say that both IAF and civil aviation authorities are looking at more integration for better management of India's airspace," Patel said recently. "The issue of sharing air space of the country is extremely critical. The government is very well aware of this. In fact, recently I had a meeting with the Air Chief in this regard," Patel told reporters here. Technical experts from Civil Aviation Ministry and IAF have been holding discussions on the issue for several months. Patel and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi also had a couple of meetings. **Constraints of adequate airspace is most felt at airfields, jointly managed by the IAF and civil aviation.** **There are 28 civil enclaves in defence airfields of which 20 are operational. **The country's total air space is around six million square kilometre of airspace. With addition of more private airlines due to the opening up of the country's skies for civilian traffic, the IAF needs more space for training. "We have an efficient air traffic management system in civilian section," Patel said. "However both can be integrated for better airspace management. Even the assets could be managed together," Patel said. More airspace would be created for commercial airlines due to a boom in aviation industry by procuring protected capacity with the Defence Ministry, Civil Aviation Secretary Ajay Prasad said in a media interaction last week. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which controls the country's flow of commercial air traffic, handles 178 routes including 79 routes for domestic traffic and another 99 for international traffic into the country and overflying Indian air space, Prasad said. During the last fiscal, the AAI handled 730,018 aircraft -- 15,191 international and 571,827 domestic -- that showed a growth of 12 per cent over previous year, he added. While passenger traffic witnessed a growth of 20 per cent in the same period with 59 million passengers, the cargo sector expanded by 22 per cent by handling 1.3 million tonnes. Last September former chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy (Retd) had said the government was working towards de-reserving some of the defence air spaces. "We appreciate the IAF's needs since they provide a large feed to civil aviation in terms of pilots and technical staff," Patel said. **Incidentally, the Ministry of Defence last year had earned Rs 68.96 crore from the defence airfields by allowing them to be used for civil flights.** Bureau Report
