Page 27 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014 Online Magazine

FEATURE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

Tata Power SED and
Raytheon display new
AutoTrac air traffic
management system for
the modernization of India’s
air force bases

than building new runways and ground- Steele describes ATM improvements country is expected to witness a savings in
based infrastructure,” says Dan Elwell , a as an “environmental and business operations of about $25 million over the
commercial airline pilot and former vice necessity” as by 2030 it is forecast that 13.5 next five years.
president of civil aviation at the Aerospace trillion passenger kilometres will be flown With India’s aviation sector becoming
Industries Association (AIA), where he annually—nearly three times the current one of the fastest growing aviation markets
was responsible for monitoring domestic level. The number of aircraft movements in the world, the Airports Authority of
and international civil aviation policy, and will almost double in the same period—to India (AAI) has also taken a number of
legislative and regulatory activity for the some 49 million per year. initiatives to upgrade airport and airspace
U.S. aerospace manufacturing industry. infrastructure to cater to the continued
Demand for air transport is on the rise. Passenger Experience growth in air traffic with enhanced safety
Most significant is Asia, including China Without subsequent improvements in and efficiency.
where traffic is expected to increase by ATM, the passenger experience is bound “AAI as air navigation service provider,
about 50% from 2013 to 2020. The Latin to suffer. Delays at the major airports in responsible for provision of air navigation
American region will experience a 40% China and the U.S., for example, could services in the delegated airspace, has
increase in movements per month, as will near two hours in just seven years’ time. embarked upon ANS infrastructure
the Middle East. African flight numbers will Already, according to the Air Transport upgradation strategy with the objective
rise by 11%, IATA estimates indicate. Action Group’s Revolutionising Air Traffic of ensuring safety, efficiency, cost-
The continued growth of traffic Management report, delays in the Greater effectiveness of aircraft operations with
and the need to provide greater flight New York airspace cost the economy $2.6 environmental benefits on a long-term
efficiency makes it necessary to optimise billion every year. and sustainable basis,” junior Civil Aviation
available airspace. This is being achieved “We need cost-effective solutions Minister K.C. Venugopal says.
world-wide by enhanced Air Traffic that provide airlines with predictability, The comprehensive strategy has been
Management (ATM) and by exploiting allowing them to be efficient and to plan the transition from voice to data-link,
technological advancements in the appropriately,” asserts Rob Eagles, IATA from ground based navigation to satellite
fields of communication, navigation and Director for Infrastructure. “This will based navigation, augmentation of radar
surveillance. increase aircraft and airport utilization and surveillance, implementation of ATM
More specifically, the application of enhance the passenger experience.” automation and enhancement in ATM
area navigation techniques in all flight Airports, due to the cost saving procedures, he says.
phases contributes directly to improved properties of this new technology, may have In the last decade in India, domestic
airspace optimisation. had reservations a few years ago, but are air traffic has more than quadrupled from
“Accommodating this growing demand now giving it some serious consideration. 13 million to 60 million while international
is critical to the sustainability of aviation Among the developing countries, Brazil traffic more than tripled to 40 million. On
and will require nothing less than an ATM was one of the first adopters with over the flip side, India is already experiencing
revolution,” says Paul Steele, IATA Director, a dozen airports now using RNP. And, the effects of increased air traffic, including
Aviation Environment. analysts estimate that the South American congestion, extra fuel burn, noise levels
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