Kolkata airport considers early transfer of air traffic operations to new facility to avoid expansion delays
1
2
Subhro Niyogi & Tamaghna Banerjee | TNN
Kolkata: The
AAI
is actively exploring the option to transfer air traffic navigation services from the current facility to the new ATC and technical block using existing systems, instead of waiting for new equipment procurement that could cause years of delay. This immediate transfer is crucial to utilise the new ATN complex, operational since February 2024, and to facilitate the demolition of the old structure for constructing a new terminal in the airport's second expansion phase.
You Can Also Check:
Kolkata AQI
|
Weather in Kolkata
|
Bank Holidays in Kolkata
|
Public Holidays in Kolkata
A senior AAI official informed TOI that the proposal was discussed in multiple meetings, with the AAI member Air Navigation Services expected to visit Kolkata for further discussions. The phase 2 expansion requires relocation within a year to avoid delays. Whilst the old domestic terminal allows for 70% construction of the new U-shaped integrated terminal, progress depends on the ATN building's demolition. The old domestic terminal's demolition is planned for this year.
"Ideally, the relocation should have happened after the installation and testing of the new systems at the control tower and area control in the new facility. However, procurement of the new systems was delayed as the earlier tender was scrapped. Floating a new global tender, procuring and installing the equipment, and making them operational will take time. Since the existing system and equipment have to be used till then, we are looking at the feasibility of shifting the operations to the new facility after parallel operations for six months," an official said.
Required procurements include a new generation automation system, approach radar, advanced surface movement guidance and control system, and VHF communication equipment. The current automation system exceeded its 10-year lifespan. "The automation system was implemented when the area control was shifted from the sixth to the third floor. At the time, parallel operations were carried out for six months," the official pointed out.
Live trials at the new control tower commenced in March third week, operating two hours daily on weekdays. ATC officials report successful trials thus far. The ATC trials will continue for three months, with area control operations potentially shifting in phases, requiring additional three-month trials and parallel operations.
The relocation involves multiple departments from the existing ATN building, including the seventh-floor tower, third-floor area control, second-floor simulator training, ground floor facilities (briefing office, NOTAM office, Met office), CNS department offices across various floors, and administrative offices. Officials note challenges in relocating the MSSR used for aircraft tracking and VHF transmitters. "The challenge is how to shift live traffic. For controllers, there is no real lean period. In Kolkata flight information region, the highest overflying traffic is at night till 3 am. During the day, the pressure of domestic flights is high. So there is no clear window," another official pointed out.
Additional concerns include spare console and terminal availability. Despite having a contingency room for area control operations during emergencies, officials prefer maintaining this redundancy rather than using it for the transition to the new facility.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
11 hours ago
- Business Standard
Statsguru: What explains cracks in infrastructure at India's major airports
A structure at the arrival forecourt of the Delhi airport's Terminal 1 collapsed due to heavy rains and thunderstorms. The airport operator – Delhi International Airport Ltd, or DIAL – however said the external tensile fabric collapsed because of water accumulation. While no fatalities were reported, the incident serves as a grim reminder of last year's fatal accident at the same terminal. Such structural failures are not rare anymore. In 2024 alone, media reports recorded at least five incidents of structure collapses and four cases of rainwater leakage at airports. This has been the case despite the share of aeronautical revenues in total revenues increasing for most of the country's airports in FY24 – even if not to the level that many major overseas counterparts have (Chart 1). For the country's major airports, repair & maintenance expenditures declined year-on-year in proportion to their aeronautical revenues in FY24. However, there was a huge variation in this share: While the Airport Authority of India (AAI) spent over a fourth of its total aeronautical revenues during the year, Hyderabad spent just around nine per cent. The trend was mixed at two major overseas airports (Chart 2). Expenditure on building maintenance for the country's major airports is less than 7 per cent of their aeronautical revenues. The variation was too high – from 0.9 per cent to 6.8 per cent – in FY24 (Chart 3). Trends shown in Charts 2 and 3 are despite an increase in the share of revenues from user development fee (UDF) in aeronautical revenues across airports. However, in Delhi's case, it is much less than Hyderabad's and AAI's (Chart 4). Half of repair & maintenance expenditure was allocated to plant & machinery at most airports, with the AAI being an exception. On the other hand, buildings, at most, accounted for one-fourth of repair & maintenance spending in FY24 (Chart 5). Since the Covid-19 pandemic struck India in 20202, government-initiated audits and inspections of airports have been on the rise (Chart 6).
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
AAI seeks 17 more acres for airport expansion in Coimbatore
Coimbatore: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has requested the district administration for an additional 17 acres for the city airport expansion project. The district administration said the land acquisition would begin as soon as they received administrative sanction. Vidya Chandran, district revenue officer (land acquisition for airport), said the district administration had already acquired and handed over 604 acres of the 628 acres requested by the AAI for the airport expansion. Of the remaining land parcels, nine acres is entangled in litigation. The remaining 15 acres is yet to be acquired because of multiple ownership and legal heir issues, she said. "As and when we acquire and hand over the remaining land to the AAI, the people who own land in Singanallur, Irugur and Neelambur areas will face connectivity issues, as some roads will be disturbed during the land acquisition. The additional 17 acres will help address the connectivity issues," the officer said. Pointing out that Chinniyampalayam was a crucial area for the proposed runway extension, city airport director G Sambath Kumar said the land earmarked there was yet to be acquired. "The land acquisition issues are being handled by the state govt." He said the AAI had finalised an Erode-based private construction firm to set up a precast compound wall around the newly acquired land. The work is expected to commence by the first week of August, he said. The AAI had floated a tender on March 19, 2025, to construct the precast boundary wall for 16.67km for the newly acquired land at a cost of Rs29 crore, with a deadline to complete the work in 456 days.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
AAI's incentives to boost intn'l flights at Bhopal
Bhopal: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) initiated a significant development for international air connectivity at Bhopal airport. AAI introduced a scheme of incentives to attract airline operators in Bhopal. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Director of Bhopal airport, Ramji Awasthi, stated that the operations department of AAI wants to boost international flights at thirteen underused international airports, including Bhopal's Raja Bhoj airport. "These airports currently have no international connections. To make this happen, they've proposed an incentive program for airlines," said Awasthi. He added, "The goal is to encourage airlines to start flying international routes from these locations. This will help these airports grow and better serve their communities." Airport officials mentioned that three of the 13 airports are major ones, while the other ten are smaller, non-major airports. The incentive scheme aims to encourage scheduled airlines to start international routes. The major airports included in the scheme are Patna, Srinagar, and Ayodhya. Srinagar and Port Blair are civil enclaves, meaning they share space with defence airports. The ten non-major airports are divided into three clusters. Cluster 1 includes Agartala, Imphal, Vadodara, and Bhopal. Cluster 2 has Rajkot, Gaya, Aurangabad, and Tirupati. Cluster 3 consists of Kushinagar and Port Blair. The incentive scheme offers benefits to airlines for each flight they land. For example, airlines flying to Agartala, Imphal, Vadodara, and Bhopal (Cluster 1) can get a full refund on landing fees, meaning they pay nothing to land their planes. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Let's look at a specific example. An Airbus A320-74 MT landing at one of these airports would normally pay Rs. 57,129 in landing fees. With the 100% incentive, the airline pays nothing, saving them Rs. 57,129 per landing. Airlines also collect a "User Development Fee" (UDF) from passengers. This fee is used to improve airport facilities. For an A-320 with 144 passengers, the UDF collected would be Rs 107,280. The incentive scheme offers airlines a percentage of this UDF as an additional benefit. In Cluster 1, which includes Bhopal, the incentive is 10% of the UDF collected. This means airlines get an extra Rs 10,728, bringing the total UDF revenue to Rs 96,552. The total additional revenue for airlines in Cluster 1 is calculated from landing fee savings and UDF incentives. The 'Net Landing' revenue (savings on landing fees) for all four airports is Rs 474,426.4. The 'Net UDF' revenue (incentives on UDF) is Rs 75,580, giving a total additional revenue of Rs 548,476. The incentive percentages vary across the clusters, meaning the financial benefits for airlines will differ depending on which airports they fly to. The operations department hopes these incentives will be enough to attract airlines. More international flights will boost local economies and connect people to the world. The scheme aims to encourage international air connectivity and boost local economic development through these financial incentives.
