Taking a step forward to implement the GAGAN programme, Civil Aviation Ministry has handed over its operations document to the aviaton regulator for certification.
Civil Aviation Secretary K N Srivastava handed over the 150-page document, prepared jointly by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), to Director General of DGCA Arun Mishra.
Speaking on the occasion, Srivastava complemented the entire team for the milestone progress and urged DGCA and AAI to take up with the airline operators to use a compliant aircraft to ensure successful business models were prepared and time bound plan was worked out.
The DGCA will now certify the programme after reviewing more than 150 documents prepared for GAGAN, from the stage of its initial conception to the stage of operational testing and evaluation, before it is implemented.
"The development of documents have been the collective effort of ISRO, AAI and DGCA for the past four years and is a milestone for Certification process of GAGAN," said V Somasundaram, Member (Air Navigational Services).
The GAGAN certification process is the first unique exercise where the regulator, DGCA officials have worked in tandem with service providers and system developers to reach the current milestone.
India will soon have the GAGAN operationalised initially meeting Required Navigation Performance specifications for en-route and non-precision approach operations and later it would be operationalised for Approach with Vertical approach guidance providing instrument landing system (ILS) like approaches to most of the runway ends.
GAGAN will be the fourth operational Satellite Based Augumentation System in the world leading Indian aviation into the era of Global Navigation Satellite System.
GAGAN expansion program to outside India should be taken up for ensuring seamless GAGAN services availability within Asia Pacific region.
