On the auspicious occasion of Republic Day, Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI) formally dedicated the “Central Command Centre, Air Traffic Flow Management (C-atfm)”, at New Air Traffic Services Complex in the presence the AAI’s Board members & senior officers and representatives of Airlines.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mohapatra said, India is on the threshold of becoming 7th country in the world to implement the Air Traffic Flow Control Measures across the nation which will accrue benefits in terms of reduced carbon foot print, embarking on Green environment concept, fuel savings and economic benefits to the air travelers.
AAI is in the process of implementing C-ATFM system covering the entire Indian airspace and major airports, to begin with, subsequently nationwide application. The C-ATFM system is primarily meant to address the balancing of capacity against the demand to achieve optimum utilization of the major resources viz. Airport, Airspace and aircraft at every Indian airport where there is a capacity constraint. ATFM Service relies on a number of supporting systems, processes and operational data which are already in place, for efficient management of Air Traffic Flow across the country.
The system displays weather information along with static information about airports, airspaces and air routes. It processes the demand / capacity information, provides decision making tools to the ATFM flow managers for collaborative decision making, in consultation with airlines, Military and Airports Operators to facilitate the regulated flow of traffic in each airport in India.
With the introduction of ATFM in India, it is envisaged to have: Enhanced safety, Cost savings to airlines resulting out of fuel savings approximately to the tune of Rs. 1680 crores per year, reduction in operating cost for airlines and contribution to Green Environment.
It is a great moment in the history of Indian Aviation that the prestigious project is dedicated to the nation on the great occasion of its Republic Day by Chairman Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra.