AAI launches new system to manage air traffic

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on 26 January 2017, on the occasion of 68th  Republic Day, launched  the Central - Air Traffic Flow Management (C-ATFM), a system designed to cut flight delays.

The launch was marked by AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra, who opened the dedicated C-ATFM facility at Delhi's new Air Traffic Services Complex. This system will be implemented by the authority itself at all the major airports and it will go on to cover the entire Indian airspace.

Highlights of the Central - Air Traffic Flow Management (C-ATFM)
• The C-ATFM system, mainly, aims to address the balancing of capacity against the demand to achieve optimum utilization of the major resources like airports, airspace and aircraft at every Indian airport.
• This service basically relies on a number of supporting systems, processes and operational data for efficient management of air traffic flow across the country.
• Once implemented fully, the system will lead to annual fuel savings of around Rs 1680 crore by reducing fuel burn while hovering or waiting to land.
• This will also accrue benefits in terms of reduced carbon foot print, fuel savings and economic benefits to the air travellers as well.
• It displays weather information along with the static information about airports, air spaces and air routes.
• It processes the demand and capacity information and then provides decision making tools to the ATFM flow managers for collaborative decision making.
• The decision making will be done in consultation with airlines, military and airports operators to facilitate the regulated flow of traffic in each airport in India.

The flight delays at Indian airports have become prevalent and passengers get troubled regularly by long waits to take off and land. Mumbai, in particular, has become a black spot for flight delays due to air traffic congestion, followed by other busy airports like Delhi.