Air surveillance capability of Tiruchi International Airport has been enhanced with the inauguration of the satellite-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system.
Tiruchi has become one among the 21 airports in the country to have in place the advanced ADS-B surveillance tool aimed at improving operational efficiency and safety.
Put in place after obtaining clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the ADS-B would now enable air traffic controllers of Tiruchi airport to track aircraft more accurately.
The system would also provide shorter and conflict-free arrival and departure paths for flights landing at Tiruchi.
It would also reduce spacing between aircraft and position them better for landing, thereby reducing flying time and saving aviation turbine fuel.
Inaugurating the facility at the airport on Tuesday, V. Somasundaram, Member (Air Navigation Services), Airports Authority of India, said Tiruchi had attained global standards in air surveillance capability with the commissioning of the ADS-B facility.
India, he said, was fourth in the world to have in place sophisticated air traffic control and surveillance system. The ADS-B was a cheaper option than the radar system yet superior in surveillance. The government was trying to bring in improvements in aviation infrastructure, he added.
Sylvester Israel, General Manager, Air Traffic Management, Southern Region, said airlines had been requested to equip their fleet of aircraft with necessary avionics to avail the benefits of the ADS-B system.
He said the radar data of Thanjavur Air Force Station would be integrated with the Tiruchi air traffic automation system in the near future.
B.C.H. Negi, Airport Director, Tiruchi and senior AAI officials participated. Mr. Somasundaram also inaugurated the new Doppler VOR system, a navigational aid, at the Tiruchi airport.
