Air collision avoidance system to be made compulsory in India

To ensure safety in the congested air routes, India will make it mandatory for all aircraft in the country, and those coming in, to carry the Airborne Collision Avoidance System from January 1, 1999.

Director General of Civil Aviation H S Khola told newspersons, after an international meeting on the subject on Tuesday, that ACAS was independent of ground-based facilities and helped reduce collisions all over the world. Now only the United States has made it mandatory for aircraft to carry the system, which costs about $ 150,000.

The meeting was attended by 130 delegates from 49 organisations, 27 international airlines and the DGCAs of Australia, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the United States and Vietnam.

The system, working on transponders exchanges information with other aircraft, gives actual positions and warning if there is a threat of collision. Khola said till date no collision has taken place in the world between aircraft carrying ACAS.

Khola said aircraft with more then 30 seats which do not carry ACAS would not be allowed in Indian airspace from January 1, 1999. By 2003, all aircraft with 10 to 30 seats will need to have the system. All the 167 Boeing 747 aircraft of Air-India and two Boeing 737s operated by Jet Airways use the ACAS at present.

The DGCA said the density of overflying traffic in Indian air space was increasing at a rapid pace. Today some 12,000 flights go through Indian air space every month. While airports were being upgraded in facilities, it was realised that an airborne system like ACAS was much needed to avoid accidents. He said the defence services would also be requested to use ACAS, pointing out that there were nine air misses already this year.