Same state of ATC, but HIAL OKed and BIAL grounded
Hyderabad’s new international airport does not have a fully functional Air Control Tower, also known as an ATC!CNBC-TV18’s Faye D'souza found out that part of the Air Traffic Control operations is still being done at the old Begumpet Airport.
India's tallest ATC became operational on Sunday, March 23, when the old airport in Hyderabad closed down for commercial operations to make way for the new one in Shamshabad. But the transition has not been smooth. Here's the twist - pilots trying to land at the new airport are still being navigated by officials at the old airport!
Officials say this is because the ATC's approach control radar at the new airport is not yet ready for operation. The ATC Towers at the two airports have different technology and are only 30 kms away from each other, which might explain why pilots descending to land at the new airport are having nervous moments minutes before touchdown because they may have received incorrect warnings from their flight computers about terrain. The GMR group that has constructed the Rs 2500 crore rupee airport says the ATC Tower is 100% complete and keeping the old ATC tower in function is part of standard procedures"
Even if the ATC tower is completely ready airports authority officials have told us their officers are not trained to handle the new technology yet. But the big question is while readiness was reason enough for postponement of the launch of the Bengaluru international airport by over a month. It doesn't seem to be a problem here.
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Link DIAL expansion by GMR and this project...........
If the Delhi airport expansion by GMR is also brought into prespective, you will see that there is overactive interest from civil aviation ministry for GMR group.
Hope everybody understands what I am talking about. It is pure politics and favoritisms. Hope that relationship doesn't extend beyond this.
ATC
Some times delay is better than half ready measures !
Begumpet controls Shamshabad flights
My fears are turning it to be true. Partisan attitude of Aviation Ministry is becoming more and clear. Let me be frank. Civil Aviation ministry is going all out in giving a helping hand to GMR. Help is more appreciated, but not when things are not yet ready and half working. Same yard stick should be applied to all. But looks like old habits die hard.
Read this news item from Deccan Chronicle:
http://www.deccan.com/home/homedetails.asp#Begumpet%20controls%20Shamshabad%20flights
Hyderabad, March 28: The Air Traffic Control unit at the defunct Begumpet airport is handling the flights to and from the new international airport at Shamshabad, though it is 35 km away. This is because the ATC unit in the new airport is yet to become fully operational. It is expected to be in working order only after three months. Until then, flights would have to take instructions from the air traffic controllers at Begumpet airport, which has officially stopped all operations.
Airports Authority of India officials say that the air traffic controllers have to acquaint themselves with the new systems being installed at Shamshabad and this will take some time. They argue that the distance would not pose any problem to smooth landing and take off of aircraft.
Italian company, Selex Communications, which has provided the latest equipment to the ATC unit at the new airport, has sent experts to train the staff to handle them. GMR-Hyderabad International Airport Limited had constructed the ATC tower as per the guidelines of AAI. It had also installed the equipment.
“We made all arrangements for air traffic control to function smoothly,” said Mr P.S. Nair, COO of GHIAL. “AAI officials will use the equipment only after completion of their training programme.” “The new systems are entirely different and so the ATC staff will have to undergo rigorous training,” said Mr R.K. Singla, AAI director for both the airports. He added that the ATC at Shamshabad would start operations only when the staff was confident enough to tackle the new systems. “It makes no difference for pilots that they are getting instructions from Begumpet since it has advanced technology and radar systems,” he said.
However, another airport official said that instructions from Begumpet airport might cause confusion.
“The KLM-873 Amsterdam-Hyderabad flight returned to Mumbai on the inaugural day as the pilots could not understand the instructions,” he said. “However, those problems are rectified now.”
Meanwhile, ATCs at Begumpet complain that the increased air traffic is taking a toll on their physical and mental health. “We need 141 ATCs to deal with the situation but there are only 58 here and some of them go for training,” said an air traffic controller.
atc bial
hi ts all others,
Sorry! was off time some days to get correct data and information.
Regarding HIAL being controlled from Begumpet tower is nothing new. HAL atc is doing the same thing to Yelahanka IAF base. The Radar and approach control (phases where the arrivals are descended and sequenced for landing) is done by HAL, and the aircraft thereafter handed over to Yelahanka tower for landing clearance. Same with departures, Yelahanka towers issuaes take off clerance and after reaching a particular altitude, the aircraft contacts HAL atc for further clearance.
HAL ATC is already feeding aircraft for five airportsi.e, ,HAL, Yelahanka, Jakkur, Hosur and Salem
You will all be surprised if You know this fact:
HAL atc has only about 30 air traffic controllers.
Shanmsabad with less traffic and no test flying activities or fighter flying has 58 controllers.
BIAL has a sanctioned strength of 150 controllers.
You can see the efficiency levels!!!
BIAL ATC could not be done by HAL simply, because HAL ia not part of the agreement, nor a partrner in this project.
Surely, as somebody was mentioning, that is politics and partisan attitude to GMR, seems baseless. Controllers in Begumpet airport are the same controllers who were handling the same traffic, to them it makes no difference if the aircraft lands at Begumpet or Shamsabad.
But BIAL, the ATC is new, so here lies the problem, and HAL ATC , even though capable of providing ATC, may not be willing because of accountability and legality.
Hope the BIAL aiport opens at least before the end of this year!!!!!!
Wait untill the replies from AAI under RTI act !
ATC snags at BIAL
http://avherald.com/h?art...
Finally ...... someone acknowledges HAL ATC <clap> <clap>
Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Yuvraj.
For years I have been praising the HAL ATC for doing such a marvelous job. If you recall, in a debates we had on Praja over HAL, I pointed out, that it was a rare instance that a flight had to circle over Bangalore, waiting in sequence to land.
This is an all the more admirable achievement, since HAL does not yet have the secondary radar system in place, and despite umpteen pleas by Industry Chambers and HAL ATCs, DGCA, never bothered to put SIDs and STARs in to place at HAL.
They have done all this for BIAL, and given the 5 frequencies (i.e. 5 controllers handling the traffic, at one time), in comparison to 3 at HAL. With the same amount of traffic 340 flights per day as HAL, BIAL is already choking up. How they are going to reach 550 movements is anyone's guess.
Just showing Bangalore the facade of a fancy PTB does not work. Time to go beyond the "Hawa Mahal".
And not to overlook -- some newpaper reporters thought of some fancy math, and took BIAL's 30 flights per hour, simply multiplied it by 24 and came up with a daily total of 720 flights.
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Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
experience
TS ATC is like driving but BIAL is on a deadline
The easiest form to put it. ATC is like driving. With experience you gain more confidence. This confidence serves you well when you visit a new area, but you do not have to re-learn everything.
The AAI controllers at BIAL are fresh, so experience is limited.
It goes back to what I keep saying. Instead of a step-by-step transition, BIAL chose the cut-over method. All the partners in BIAL are well experienced and supposed experts in their respective fields. Why did they make such a rushed decision ?
The answer lies in the contract. They were supposed to construct the airport in 3 years. So they have been forced to start without being fully prepared.
Time for BIAL to live up to the contract, they want enforced.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD
ATC like driving?
Local knowledge is always helpful
No doubt about the strength of local knowledge, in any activity, but in the air, you really do not have that much in the form of ground obstacles.
-----------------------
Regards
Devesh R. Agarwal
Visit my aviation blog at http://aviation.deveshagarwal.com
Regards
Devesh
Bangalore Aviation
Enjoy life, destroy FUD