The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is setting up an Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) at the Tiruchi International Airport to bring all airport operations, except Air Traffic Control, under a centralised automated system.
The AOCC will effectively be the “hidden nerve centre” from where the operation of the airport, including passenger, baggage, and cargo movement will be coordinated and controlled.
“Tiruchi is one of the airports in the country selected for setting up the AOCC and preliminary work on establishing the centre at the airport has already begun,” Airport Director S. Dharmaraj told The Hindu here on Friday. The AOCC is expected to be in place by February 2014.
The system aims at improving operational efficiency of the airport services and enhancing security. The centre will bring about better coordination and decision making among various agencies involved in the complex day-to-day operations of the airport.
Apart from improving efficiency of airside and terminal operations, it would bring about better resources planning and allocation and allow various agencies to collaborate real time. The AOCC will enable the operation teams to work with better efficiency, reliability, and security. It will help in optimisation of airport resources, strengthen focus on security and improve on-time performance resulting in enhanced customer satisfaction.
Third aerobridge
Mr. Dharmaraj said the airport would get a third aerobridge before the end of the current financial year. The project, to be executed at a cost of Rs. 3 crore, is in the tendering stage.
The airport, which is expected to register a passenger growth rate of 15 per cent this financial year, will get an additional departure conveyor system by October. A proposal on expanding the terminal building by 80 metres on departure side and 100 metres on the arrival side, to double the passenger handling capacity of the airport, is under the consideration of the AAI.
Mr. Dharmaraj said Tiger Airways had planned to increase the frequency of its Singapore-Tiruchi-Singapore service from 11 to 14 flights a week under its winter schedule. SpiceJet was set to increase the frequency of its Chennai-Tiruchi-Chennai service from four to seven flights a week in the winter schedule. Malindo Air, a low-cost carrier based in Malaysia, was awaiting clearance from the Director-General of Civil Aviation for introducing services on the Kuala Lumpur-Tiruchi-Kuala Lumpur sector.
