The Hindu Business Line : Joint airspace management project begins trial run

New Delhi, Oct. 2 The Government has started two new initiatives — joint airspace management and reducing the time for clearance of cargo from the airports — so as to not only ease air traffic congestion but also allow faster clearance of consignments arriving by air. Both the initiatives were started on October 1 this year.

Official sources told Business Line that the joint airspace management programme involving the armed forces and Airports Authority of India (AAI) had started in the Chennai Flight Information Region (FIR) on a trial basis and would be extended to other regions depending on its outcome.

The successful implementation of the project could lead to better flexible use of airspace for both civil and military operations.

Sources said that the optimal airspace management was being done as per the laid down procedures of the international civil aviation organization (ICAO) and procedures followed in the UK. The decision to go in for joint airspace management was firmed up after a high level meeting held in the Ministry of Civil Aviation recently.

The sharing of airspace between military and civil agencies has been a bone of contention for some time now. Late last year, the armed forces had not accepted the proposal of vesting the entire Indian airspace with civil aviation authorities.

“The Indian airspace is a national asset and should be available for all operators as per requirements as it cannot be unlimited and there is need to protect it for reasons of national security, which cannot be compromised,” said a senior Government official.

The implementation of the joint airspace management initiative would prove a boon for the domestic air industry which has been recording double digit growth.

Cargo clearance

Meanwhile, the exporting community is to appeal to the Government to reconsider the method for calculating the dwell time for clearance of cargo. The Government has mandated that from October 1 the free storage period for import cargo has been reduced from five working days to three working days.

“We are all for reducing the dwell time. But we are requesting that the dwell time be counted from the time the cargo is segregated,” said a senior official of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.