Airplanes might go bumper to bumper by June-July

India is likely to introduce the performance-based navigation system in its air space by June-July this year, a top civil Aviation Ministry official said on Tuesday.

"We are introducing performance-based navigation, which will make the longitudinal distance shorter by about three nautical miles from the existing 5-7 nautical miles," Director General of Civil Aviation K Gohain told reporters, on the sidelines of a safety seminar hosted by private carrier Jet Airways in Mumbai.

When asked whether there was any timeline for its implementation, Gohain said, "We have a certain time length. We are trying to test this. We are doing our best; we will try to implement performance based navigation by June-July this year."

Gohain also said the civil aviation regulatory body of the country, DGCA, was also working on reducing the lateral displacement in order to meet the challenge of the growing air traffic in the country.

The lateral displacement will also be made shorter, by which the capacity of air space will increase easing the traffic growth, he said.

"We have already reduced the vertical separation to 1,000 feet above flight level 29,000 feet and above," he added.

Replying to a query on the safety aspects of the reduced distance, whereby the aircraft would move in close distance with each other, Gohain said, "Yes, we can see the airplane from the window, but that does not mean a hazard situation develops".

He also said the pilots were being trained for this specific requirement along with certification to the aircraft.

"The pilots are also being subjected to that. The aircraft has to be certified for this precision instrument. Even the crew has to be trained. They have to go for that training. Then the procedure which has been designed for laid down of the airport, they also have to be redefined, tested and flown over the flight trials," he said.