The Hindu Business Line : Safety norms at Defence airfields

The surge in airline operations in India has brought into focus operational safety at Defence airfields. Commercial demands require airlines to operate in airports under the control of the Defence services. Are the mandatory ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) requirements of safety norms being complied with?

In a recent circular issued to all the operators by the Squadron Commander Wg. Cdr. S. K. Dhyani, of ATS Squadron at Jammu (Ref. No. 23W/314/3/ATC dated May 18, 2006), the total lack of understanding of safety norms for civil aviation has been exposed. The circular violates two major safety clauses.

One refers to the passenger window shutters. The civil aviation requirement is that the window shades be open for all take-offs and landings. This is to enable the crew to identify the location of fire, in case of a crash landing. The evacuation of passengers has to be on the side which is clear. If the shutters are closed, you may have the passengers being evacuated into a live fire.

The second clause relates to the fire-fighting category of the airfield. For all jet operations, the ICAO requires a minimum fire-fighting category. The circular mentions that the required fire-fighting category may not be available as their priority is only for Air Force aircraft and not civil aeroplanes.

At the Pune airfield, the entire centre section of the length of the runway is sprayed with a resin coating to prevent the surface from being damaged by the exhaust from the fighter aircraft. The rubber deposit increases with every take-off and landing, making the surface dangerous when it gets wet, say, during rain. Yet, passenger flights, including Air India's wide-bodied aircraft, continue to be operated, ignoring the several overruns that have taken place there.

The Director-General of Civil Aviation is supposed to ensure that all ICAO safety norms are complied with for passenger operations. Yet, even a month after the circular was issued, the DGCA has not made any statement or raised an objection.

If this is the stance of the Defence services for the operation of civil passenger flights, the Government should seriously consider building alternative airports where flights can operate safely. Should we wait for a disaster before acting?

Capt A. Ranganathan

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