New surveillance tech to reduce midair gap between aircraft from Jan 1

A reduction in lateral separation of aircraft will enable flight operators to take more direct routes, saving fuel in the process

With the Airports Authority of India (AAI) commissioning more modern surveillance technology from January 1, 2024, the air traffic control in the country is set to become smarter, The Economic Times (ET) reported. The new surveillance technology will allow flight operators to halve the lateral separation between aircraft. This will help increase the efficiency in the use of airspace.

According to the current rules, aircraft need to maintain a lateral separation of 10 nautical miles (18.5 km). The new rules will enable operators to reduce this distance to five nautical miles. AAI is the governing body that regulates airspace in India. AAI has made significant investments towards modernising navigation radars and technology, the ET report stated.

Benefits of the new rules

The benefits of reducing the lateral separation between aircraft go beyond the efficient use of airspace. This will also enable flight operators to take more direct routes, saving fuel in the process.

The development is significant given that the Indian aviation sector is experiencing a jump in demand for air travel. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the number of aircraft has increased by 75 per cent since financial year 2013-14 (FY14), and this is likely to double in the next five years, the ET report said.

A top AAI official told the newspaper that with the Noida and Navi Mumbai airports becoming operational, both New Delhi and Mumbai will become two-airport cities by next year. Increasing the airspace capacity had become a necessity, the official said.

What are the new pieces of equipment enabling the reduction in lateral separation?

In 2018, the government mandated modern transponders - automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, or ADS-B, for a majority of the routes. These transponders transmit non-stop identification, location, altitude, and velocity of the plane, which facilitates better surveillance.

An AAI official told ET, “Over the last few years, all radars have been upgraded and most to Mode-S, which employs modern technology.” “Further, with the use of ADS-B, the majority of the airspace has come under reliable surveillance coverage. Along with the enhanced coverage of surveillance, all area control centres have modern automation systems which can integrate surveillance feed from a number of sources. Due to all of these, our surveillance capabilities have improved significantly and after the due process of safety assessments, we have been able to reduce lateral separation between two aircraft,” the official added.

A senior official with IndiGo told The Economic Times that the new system will help the airline get more fuel-efficient routings.