The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will set up an Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) at the premier international airport here to bring airport operations management under IT-based systems with the aim of improving effectiveness and efficiency of services and enhancing security.
Described as the ‘hidden nerve centre', the AOCC will be the ‘command, coordination and control centre' of the whole airport which will bring together the diverse processes relating to the three major operational areas — passengers, baggage and cargo, and aircraft. The Thiruvananthapuram international airport is among the 10 identified by the AAI to set up the AOCC.
The space adjacent to the visitors' gallery at the old international terminal building at Sanghumughom has been earmarked for setting up the AOCC, a top AAI official told The Hindu .
The AOCC is coming up close to the space where Indra, an air traffic control technology developed by the Spanish Information Technology and Defence Systems Company, will be installed. Equipment for the air traffic modernisation is expected to reach the city soon.
The objective of the AOCC is improved productivity through process automation and efficiency in operations, redeployment of personnel in core functions and advancement activities, increased focus on safety and higher organisational contribution through trend analysis and forecasting.
Improved coordination through cross-functional integration and cross-entity interfacing, optimisation of existing airport resources, improvement on time performance resulting in enhanced customer satisfaction are the other objectives of the AOCC.
The facility will enable the highest level of airside operations, resources planning and allocation, terminal operations and security and will allow various agencies/departments to collaborate real time.
Besides, the AOCC will enable the operation teams to work with with increased efficacy, reliability, security, scalability, real-time intelligence and information security, providing comprehensive situation analysis and management capabilities.
Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was the first to set up AOCC in the country followed by Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and later in Bangalore. The AOCC will be a “resource centre” and the one mooted by the AAI for the 10 airports in the country will be slightly different from the ones that have come up already in Mumbai and other places.
The Airports Authority of India has invited tenders for setting up the AOCC at these airports.
