ATC signals its readiness

ATC signals its readiness
Anshul Dhamija | TNN

Bangalore: With the opening of Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) round the corner, preparations by BIAL to ensure a smooth take-off are in full swing.
The much-talked-about Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at BIA has been put into action, with aircraft flying in to Bangalore already radioing in.
On a random basis, aircraft landing at HAL airport from the North are being asked to switch to BIA’s ATC radio frequency, to check the equipment. This will also acquaint pilots with coordinates of the new airport.
“As soon as we enter Bangalore’s airspace, a quick switchover is made from HAL’s ATC to BIA’s ATC. We just make radio contact to check the functioning of the new airport’s ATC radio equipment,” said a pilot of a leading airline.
When the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Hyderabad was recently opened, there was a lot of confusion on the first day. Hours after it airport opened for business, a KLM flight from Amsterdam, which was supposed to land at Hyderabad, skipped the airport and flew across the country, first to Delhi and then to Mumbai. Apparently, the pilot knew nothing about the new airport and hovered towards the old Begumpet airport, only to be told that the facility had been shut.
In any airport, incoming aircraft pick up ATC radio frequency signals from a distance of 150 miles.
BIA’s ATC, which will be operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), had faced a number of teething problems, such as setting up the tower with all the equipment and getting skilled personnel to handle Bangalore’s growing air traffic.
Though all the equipment at BIA’s air traffic control is in place, airline sources add that AAI is still on the look out for manpower.
According to BIAL, “On two occasions, the ATC had conducted proving flights, wherein Kingfisher and Jet Airways aircraft made a touchdown at BIA in order to test the readiness of the ATC.”
“This procedure was mandatory for us to get the required licences,” said BIAL.
The new airport is expected to handle 480 aircraft movements a day for the summer session and close to 550 movements a day in the winter season.
However, no such inconvenience is being caused to airlines and passengers as the new airport comes in the flight path of aircraft landing in HAL airport from the North.
toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com