Shortage of pilots, air-traffic controllers turns focus on safety

Chennai: The aviation industry in India is facing a rising shortage of trained pilots and air-traffic controllers.
Over the last three years, the number of aircraft in Indian skies has almost doubled to over 300, and there will be an additional 250 aircraft by 2010, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), an aviation consultancy. This will generate a demand for at least 2,000 additional pilots in the next three years, and 15,000 more by 2020 — and these are conservative estimates.
The airlines are already facing the strain of increased competition and more packed schedules with limited resources at their disposal. A Civil Aviation Ministry source told The Hindu that this led to increased violations of air-safety norms, particularly among new airlines that were under pressure to balance their books. The source said that violations of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) for pilots were “widespread,” and the regulatory agencies were “struggling” to enforce their regulations.
“But the fact of the matter is every operator is politically influential, so there is not much we can do.”
As the skies become more crowded — aircraft movements increased by 30 per cent in the past year — the role of air-traffic controllers has become more important than ever.
An airport official said that while the present situation was “manageable” for ATCs, there was an urgent need to improve the existing infrastructure now if the expected increase in traffic was to be handled. “The current equipment is outdated by more than 10 years,” the official said.
24/11/07 Ananth Krishnan/The Hindu