Civilian aircraft to use Defence facilities soon

This could not have come at a better time. Airline passengers facing erratic flight schedules and inordinate delays may get some respite with the government planning to allow civilian airlines to use defence airspace and airport infrastructure. The civil aviation ministry has signed an agreement with the defence ministry for building synergies between defence and civilian airports. The broad proposal is to maximise the air space utilisation in the Indian skies. The agreement will enable the domestic carriers to use defence airfields when not in use. The two ministries have carved out five zones — North, South, East, West and Central — to facilitate cooperation among them. The joint management of air space will help the government in managing the congestion in the skies, especially at major airports such as Delhi and Mumbai.

It will also be of special help during the fog season as various diverted planes may be able to land and take off from the nearest defence airport. At present, there are 450 airports and airstrips in the country. Of the 450, only 125 are under the management of Airports Authority of India and the rest are defence airfields and airstrips. Civil aviation ministry is evolving a joint flexible airspace management mechanism to utilise the defence airports and airstrips. “There is a good case to utilise the defence airports for civilian purposes when they are not in use,” said a government official. The agreement between the two ministries would also lead to cost efficiencies as civilian planes can fly over the defence air space to minimise the distance between two points, he added. The government has completed the operational procedures of the joint management project.

In order to facilitate the joint management process, the two ministries have constituted working groups comprising of officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Indian Air Force. These groups will be working for each zone. The two ministries are now working out the technical aspects of these project which will help in its speedy implementation. Earlier, the Indian airline companies had approached the defence ministry to open military airports around Delhi to the civilian aircraft. The logic was to lessen delays due to diversion of flights to other airports, which are far from the main civilian airport. For instance, if defence airports of Agra and Gwalior are opened to civilian airlines then the congestion at Delhi airport can be effectively handled, especially during the fog season which leads to significant flight diversions. The agreement between the two ministries is now expected to address this issue.

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