Bad News : ATC not ready, new airport will take off 2-4 weeks late

It looks like the forces are in action full time here. The lobby behind the HAL airport continuation seems to be pretty strong. I may sound pretentious but HIAL has never ever seen such comments from the ministry. Is it the congress backing working overtime on such things? Unfortunately, the state cannot put a point across in the current political context. It does not take 33 months for the ministry to notice that there are only 25 ATC's instead of 70 and make this point a show stopper at the nth moment. Not sure where all this is going

Ridiculous that these issues are coming up at this time. The ATC issue, connectivity issue should have been thought about long time ago. This is not a kid's high school project thats going on. The newspapers too seem to be on an overtime, reporting these drawbacks now.

Is BIAL's expected traffic limited to 4 flights in about an hour??

Landing newspersons, officials who i am sceptical went to baggage claim, IMO doesn't fit a real world scenario. Lets say for argument purposes this covered arrivals, what about departures?, have they exercised the systems involved in departures?

I am not for HAL to co-exist as an international aiport, it could possibly take the domestic load but then there needs to be a lot of international flights for BIAL to break even, which is not the case currently.

The reported delay attributed to ATC not being fully ready is pure politics and strong arm atctics of ATC staff who do not want to move to the new airport (BIAL). Don't believe it........Then read this from news item appeared in DNA India.......

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1155596

DNA India Reports.........Various sources have been expressing doubts over the preparedness of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at the new airport, saying that the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which handles the ATC at Indian commercial airports, would need more time for commissioning it.

However, SpiceJet Ltd executive VP, flight operation, J S Dhillon said that generally 15 days were enough for the calibration of ATC equipment at any new airport.

“Generally, it does not take more than 2-3 weeks for the calibration of equipments installed at the ATC. In my view, it (postponement) has nothing to do with the readiness of the ATC but the reluctance of the airport staff to move to the new airport, which is very far from the city,” said Dhillon.

Corroborating his view, a GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) spokesperson said that the ATC at the new Hyderabad airport- Rajiv Gandhi International Airport - was ready in about three weeks of the handover of the ATC tower to the AAI.

“AAI took over the tower in the third week of February. They purchased all the equipments and recruited manpower at the ATC,” said a GHIAL spokesperson.

there is something more than what we are all thinking is going on. it is very very curious that things have to come to the this. last week of oct BIAL announced the dates. and only in the second week of march does it come out that ATC equipment has not arrived, and required number of ATC's are not trained? yuvaraj mentioned that there was no parallel hiring. but was it bial's deal? wasn't the 13% stake holder AAI supposed to be incharge of the atc? i want to know who was responsible for the deal bial or aai. the date itself is not a concern, but the fact that somebody out there is pulling strategic punches is problematic. one thing is apparent, shifting to bial rocks a whole lot of boats.

Don't believe it...........Then read this article from TOI............

Political cloud over take-off
14 Mar 2008

Anil Kumar M & Anshul Dhamija , TNN

BANGALORE: There is a strong political hand overlooking the opening of Bengaluru International Airport (BIA). The Centre, on Thursday, officially communicated to Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) that it should consider an opening date after May 10 - which coincides with the planned state elections.

State Congress leaders are believed to have pressurised the Centre to postpone the opening date. By way of a response to the Centre, the BIAL issued a press release on Thursday, proposing May 11 as the opening date.

Karnataka Congress leaders met the prime minister a couple of days back, urging that HAL airport be retained for a few months till connectivity problems with respect to BIA are resolved. Meanwhile, the party high command is personally overseeing developments and is in touch with the civil aviation minister.

If connectivity issues are resolved soon, Congress expects to use it as a political weapon against JD (S) and BJP. Congress would like to argue that their joint government merely proceeded on setting up BIA without doing anything about how to reach it.

Delimitation is also weighing on the minds of the state party leadership. Bangalore urban district will have 28 assembly constituencies as a result of this exercise, against 16 at present. A botched opening can backfire for the party, just as a successful exercise can enable it to score over its rivals. The fact that BIA, unlike its counterpart in Hyderabad, will charge user fees from domestic passengers from Day One does not inspire political confidence.

A blame game is also being played out at the Centre, between Congress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA. Congress is blaming NDA for inking deals for the new airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad with private parties. "In future we will not enter into deals where we have to close down old infrastructure," a source close to the civil aviation minister said.

Meanwhile, the ostensible reasons being offered for a delayed opening are quite different. Stating that facilities within the ATC tower are not complete, the Centre has dashed off a letter directing BIAL to "consider a suitable date after May 10 for the airport opening". The earlier inauguration date for BIA was March 30.

"As ATC services will not be available by March 30, the date has to be put off," the letter said.

The civil aviation ministry, which only the other day said the airport opening would be put off by four weeks or the last week of April, seemed to change tack. It pointed out that construction of ATC facilities - control tower, technical block, office accommodation of AAI personnel and issues like electricity supply, house-keeping, air-conditioning - prompted it to ask the BIAL to fix a date after May 10.

BIAL made its frustration with the ministry’s actions amply clear: "We are clearly disappointed with this delay, especially as our employees and all our partners have been working tirelessly to launch BIA on schedule on March 30. This delay is beyond the control of BIAL. To mark the successful readiness of airport infrastructure, BIAL will hold an event to showcase the new airport on March 28."

While all central government agencies responsible for the performance of key functions at the airport had confirmed their readiness for March 30, Airports Authority of India expressed reservations about ATC being ready by that date.

IA: Flight calibration to commence today By Rasheed Kappan, DH News Service, Bangalore: The much-awaited flight calibration process will finally commence at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) in Devanahalli on Saturday. A fully equipped Dornier aircraft owned by the Airports Authority of India arrived at the airport on Friday, preparing the ground for the highly crucial calibration procedure. Over the next two days, the fully equipped AAI aircraft will fix the parameters and carry out the calibration process for the navigational aid and landing procedures. Six hours flight “Two to three technical officers from AAI will be inside the aircraft testing the various equipment. If everything goes well, the process will take six hours of flying. It would have to be tested for various distances and heights, around the runways and in circles,” a top airport official explained to Deccan Herald. The calibration flight is equipped to measure technical parameters related to the Communication, Navigation, Surveillance — Air Traffic Management (CNS-ATM) equipment, all attached to the ATC. After the flight, the equipment is placed in hot standby mode for a thousand hours. Only on completion of this period (about 42 days) is the CNS-ATM fully operationalised. This was one critical reason why the launch of the Airport was postponed, since the original launch date of March 30 gave barely anytime for AAI personnel to get familiarised with the ATC equipment. AAI will carry out a second round of the calibration flights if required, after the parameters are readjusted. Once the calibration is assessed and found to be perfect, different airlines will be asked to carry out their trial runs. Only then will the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) promulgate the landing charts for the new airport, and testify the preparedness of BIA’s ATC, highly placed sources said. It is learnt that the AAI was confident of completing the entire process by May 10, in time for the airport’s revised launch date of May 11.

Controllers apprehensive about air safety at Devanahalli airport V. Sridhar http://www.thehindu.com/2... Safety standards are up to international standards, says BIAL There is only one lift to the 20-storeyed tower Controllers say the runway lacks central lights For an airport that was to commence operations in March, now postponed to May, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) facility ought to have been up and running. Instead, on a mid-March morning, just six weeks away from the date of commissioning of the airport, chaos reigns at the ATC facility at the international airport in Devanahalli. Whiling away time Highly skilled controllers, instead of working at their consoles, are counting tables and chairs and discussing the blinds that should be put on the windows to prevent light from falling directly on the screens that will monitor traffic at the airport. That the BIAL missed the March deadline is well known, but has it also cut corners? Controllers are apprehensive about air safety at the new airport. For example, there is just one lift to the 20-storeyed Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower. A senior controller posted at the new airport since December said that in the event of its breakdown controllers would have to climb 20 floors. This could “disorient” a controller. “How can he respond appropriately in an emergency,” he asked. Controllers with heart ailments and other health disorders would find it impossible to make the steep climb. He pointed out that the ATC at the new airport at Shamshabad in Hyderabad is equipped with two lifts. ‘Standards met’ In response to a specific question posed by The Hindu about employees’ apprehension that a single lift at the ATC may compromise safety, Albert Brunner, CEO of BIAL, said, “Care has been taken to ensure that safety standards are met as per international standards.” He said the various buildings within the airport “have been built after taking approvals from the respective authorities”. Runway lighting Controllers at Devanahalli also said the runway lacked central lights, which are embedded along the centre of the runway, to aid visual navigation by pilots as they land or take off. These are considered state of the art in new airports and have been provided at the Hyderabad airport. They also complained that the non-availability of turning pads at the ends of the runway, which aid manoeuvring of aircraft, was another example of “cost cutting”. A senior controller told The Hindu that the approach control area of the ATC, which is the area from where controllers guide approaching airborne aircraft, is about one-fifth the size of the facility in the new airport at Hyderabad. It is expected that controllers may have to handle at least 420 movements a day (each arrival or departure of an aircraft is considered a “movement”). There are just two rest rooms, one measuring about 50 sq. ft and another measuring about 150 sq. ft, for the more than 30 controllers at the airport. While the first room has barely enough room for one person, the second can accommodate three cots. Each controller is entitled to four hours of rest after a shift, pointed out one controller. “This is a high pressure job. That has escaped the attention of those at the helm,” he said.

Cant believe these FU#*#*#*# cannot build a safe airport for the Silicon Valley of India. Why is that when we do projects for Americans, we do it "on time" with utmost care and respect, but when it comes to our own people, our own projectm, we dont give a shi* ? We dont give a SHi* about the safety of the Air passengers "OR" the Air controllers who are the most important staff of the airport ? 2 friggin bathrooms for 40 people ? which moron decided on that ? One elevator ? When I visit Bangalore, if I were to get in some sort of disaster, I pray that i die. If I am injured and still alive, I will be going after the Designers of BIAL.

Friends,

 Let's not get frustrated with the glaring inadequecies in BIAL's design and infrastructure. We should be glad that ATC and its operators will get reasonable time to fine tune their equipments and operations before the airport starts.

Also if there are any shortcomings or inadequecies, it is not the end of the road. These can be corrected or build new ones if it requires. Yes it costs. But that's life. It is public which pays for the mistakes and casual attitude of the officers in authorities.

Mind it, AAI is also a 13% shareholding partners in the BIAL venture and if the ATC design was in adequate AAI should have taken BIAL CEO Albert Brunner for task. 

If we really care, it is time we file for all information from AAI under RTI act. It costs Rs. 10 (Ten Rupees Only). Here is the info on how to file for information under RTI.

http://censorship.wikia.c...

 

Contact details of PIO (Principal Information Officer) of AAI:

T. Premnath, G.M (Public Relations)

Corporate HQ,

Airports Authority of India

Room # 331, 3rd Floor,

R G Bhawan

Safdarjung Airport

NEW DELHI - 3. 

Guys,

Below is a contents of RTI application which I would be submitting to AAI for the information on process / facts on ATC operationalization at HIAL. That would give an idea whether BIAL lived upto the requirements or not. Also I would be submitting a separate application for BIAL. 

Please feel free to use as is.

------------------------------------------------------ 

To:       Shri P. Premnath,

General Manager and PIO (RTI)

Corporate Headquarter

Airport Authority of India

Room # 331, 3^rd Floor,

R G Bahwan

Safdarjung Airport

New Delhi - 110003

 

Date:   March 212008

 

Sub:     Information regarding the clearance and operation of ATC at new international airport of Hyderabad at Shamshabad location.

 

Dear Sir,

In few days, the new international airport at Hyderabad city is going to be functional commercially. It is indeed a good news and beginning of a new chapter in civil aviation in India. It has come to my attention thru the news media that there are discrepancies in requirements that were applied for operationalising of the Air Traffic Control centers at new airport in Hyderabad. In this respect, I would like to use the Right to Information Act to ascertain the following w.r.t New International Airport in Hyerdabad at Shamshabad location:

 

1. What is the shareholding percentage of the AAI in new airport project of Hyderabad?
2. What is the role of AAI in the new airport?
3. Who will man the ATC in terms of AAI employees or private contractors?
4. What was involvement of AAI in design, construction and approval of ATC buildings and infrastructure?
5. Are there any standards and requirements for ATC facilities in terms of square footage, Lifts/elevators, No. of toilets, dormitory etc?
6. If yes, did the new airport comply with all the standards and requirements?
7. How many times the AAI did inspect the new airport facilities including ATC buildings during and after completion of construction?
8. Did AAI give any written approval to the new airport indicating that the facilities confirm to the AAI requirements?
9. When did the project executor GMR handed over the ATC building to AAI?
10. Who was responsible for procurement, installation, testing, calibration and final approval for commercial use of ATC equipments and accessories?
11. When did the orders for ATC equipment were placed and when did they were received at the site?
12. Who was involved in the installation of above said equipment?
13. When did the installation of above said equipment start and when was it completed?
14. Does the new airport have enough controllers who are “rated”? How many?
15. When the ATC controllers got recruited/transferred to new airport location?
16. When did they start training and when did all of them got “Rated” at new airport?
17. In absence of air traffic at Shamshabad airport, how did the ATC controllers got trained? Did they use any simulators?
18. If answer to the above question is yes, how many hours/days they trained on simulator before they were certified/rated for operation.
19. Are there any standards and requirements for training on simulators in terms of minimum hours / days for the ATC controllers?
20. Are there any standards and requirements for “Hot-Standby” process for Communication, Navigation and Surveillance-Air Traffic Management (ATM-CNS) system? If so what are they?
21. When did the process of “Hot-Standby” for ATM-CNS system period get started at new airport?
22. When did the above said process get completed?
23. When did the ATM-CNS get fully operationalised?

 

A detailed answer to each of the question would be highly appreciated and would help ordinary people like me to discount any fears or apprehension of any compromises in Aviation security and safety of airline passengers by AAI.

 

I request you to kindly look into this matter. Thank you in advance for your co-operation.

 

Thanking you and I remain,

 

Yours Sincerely,

 

<Your Name>

<Your Address> 

BIAL should be closely monitoring what HIAL is doing wrong..this way we can avoid the same mistakes and make it a smooth transition - anymore hiccups can do un wrong... If you look at HIAL Vs BIAL - HIAL is greater in square feet - this is because the main terminal building also includes administration and airline offices. At BIAL these offices are in the adjacent buildings.As I understand. Hence even though there is such a large difference in square feet floor area - the no. of passengers each hold are almost the same. again have alook at BIAL's master plan as opposed to HIAL's - BIAL is a lot bigger - and in figures it is 10 million people more. The horizontal seperation is the main reason why...

BIA to be best guarded airport
Bala Chauhan, DH

Not just hi-tech, but also the best secured airport in the country, is what the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) is aiming to become...

The HAL airport, which is presently being used in Bangalore, is rated as a hyper sensitive airport in India because of the perceived security risk. The tag will continue when the transition will occur, from the HAL airport to BIA in May this year. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which looks after the security aspects of the international airport is making sure that every aspect of security is taken care of and the protocol laid down by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) followed in letter.

The CISF will have three times as much manpower at the BIA. The current strength of the para military force at the HAL airport is around 330 personnel. This will be hiked to 1,000 armed and trained men for the BIA.

“We will draw the additional forces from the reserved strength of other airports and later, those vacancies will be filled up through recruitment process. We have asked for highly skilled and trained manpower, who will also be part of the quick response team (QRT). We also have a tie up with the National Security Guards (NSG),” said a senior CISF officer.

The security at the BIA is being discussed and monitored by the BCAS, the CISF and the airport operator — the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL). “The BIA will have the latest explosive detectors including liquid explosives, hi-tech CCTVs, scanning machines, hand and door metal detectors etc. We will also have the latest communication gadgets like the print monitoring and receiving system (PMRS), through which messages will be relayed from the intercom to walkie talkie and vice versa,” said the source.

Restriction
Entry of people besides passengers and airline and ground staff will be restricted. “Only a select part of the terminal will be open to visitors with tickets. We are getting the latest equipment to screen the baggage. There will be 13 baggage inspection systems; eight in the domestic and five in the international. Waiting time for the passengers will be reduced to a great extent. Presently there are six baggage screening counters at the HAL airport,” the officer added.

The apex governing body for airport security — the  International Civil Aviation Organisation, to which all countries are signatories has standard and recommended practices.

While the standard practices have to be strictly followed, the ICAO leaves it to the country to pick up from the recommended practices, which may be suitable to it “For the BIA we have taken up some of the recommended practices by the ICAO,” he said.