Looking to address the surging air traffic in the country, the Indian government, apart from upgrading its air traffi ccontrol (ATC) facilities, is also shifting to a satellite-based system that provides state-of-the-art traffic management facilities.
According to the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) head Kanu Gohain, all the standard practices mandated by the international civil aviation organisation (ICAO) are followed by domestic aviation sector. “We allow only airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS) II-equipped commercial aircraft in the country. This is to minimise the risk of any unfortunate incident in the air,” he added.
All turbine-engine aircraft of a maximum take-off weight exceeding 15,000 kg or authorised to carry 30 passengers or more, are required to be equipped with ACAS II. The DGCA made ACAS mandatory following a mid-air collision between a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747-100 and an Ilyushin 76 on a charter cargo flight from Chimkent, Kazakhstan in 1996 which killed some 350 people.
The government is also planning to make testing of English language ability mandatory for pilots.