In the capital
state of Vibrant Gujurat ,the land of Mahatma Gandhi, lies an Airport, named
after the Iron Man of India,
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel
International Airport, Ahmedabad. The vibrancy of the State reflects the
growth of the airport, with the runway extended twice in the last 15
years from a meager 7000ft to a good 11500ft capable of handling B747
aircraft today.
Amidst boom of
Aviation in the mid nineties for
better management of air traffic in the
northern part of Mumbai FIR, Ahmedabad TMA was carved out and
established on 2nd Feb 1995.Since
then there is
no looking back. In 1998 this airport has attained the distinction of
providing area control service using ARSR.
With the worlds 7th
busiest route joining the financial capital Mumbai and political capital
Delhi transiting through this TMA the challenges of managing air traffic
are many. With the dedicated team of Air Traffic Controllers this TMA is
not only bridging the gap between Delhi and Mumbai TMA but also acts as
the western corridor of India, having a long control area boundary with
Pakistan. The crossing of routes joining west to east and south to
north, with increasing demand of higher levels by modern jets makes the
job of ATCO more challenging and satisfying. In addition to handling
about 600 movements a day in the TMA, the controllers have the
responsibility to ensure security of the nation by checking DGCA
Authority of every aircraft entering from the west. The Air Traffic
Controllers at Ahmedabad are indeed doing an excellent job by keeping
pace with Mumbai and Delhi for provision of seamless Air Traffic Control
service and bridging the gap between the two TMAs using MSSR. By giving
direct routing in Area Control, Ahmedabad saves at least two hours of
flying time of one A320 aircraft in a day, there by conserving fuel and
contributing to environmental protection..
While it may take
a couple years for a new, modern and ergonomic ATS complex to come up,
the proposal for which is in the execution stage, the controllers are
very efficiently managing the various ATS units in the existing complex,
which indeed is an example of efficient resource management.
This airport
being infamous for bird activity, dedicated controllers in perfect
coordination with Fire and Rescue staff make every effort to control
bird activity, which is praise worthy. Paucity of aircraft .parking
stand and increase in aerodrome traffic (about 120 movements daily) puts
additional stress on controllers in coordinating with airlines and
explaining the worried pilots on the taxi track awaiting parking stands.
In recognition to the growing demands more no of parking stands are
under construction. Frequent training flights by Scheduled air carriers
like Air India, Jet Airways, Spice Jet, Air Deccan and other
non-scheduled operators due to all weather operating conditions fetch
more revenue for AAI.
On the Air
traffic Controllers Day, I salute controller’s world wide in general and
my fellow controllers at Ahmedabad in particular, but for whom smooth
sojourn in air wouldn’t have been possible.
As a mark of
respect I present the following poem.
AHMEDABAD TMA
I
salute, you,
I
salute your acumen,
I
salute your dedication
Despite your limitation,
Oh
little known,
hero
of aviation,
You
make the sky safe,
You
make air travel
Orderly and Expeditious,
on
this day
my
friend
let us
join hands together
to
rededicate ourselves
to
make aviation safer
because
we are
AIR
TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
