ATC hotlines dead for 5 hrs, but planes land and take off on time

Mumbai: Cellphones saved the day for air-travellers on Sunday after hotlines connecting Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC) to other airports in the country went dead for five hours.
Officers on duty averted a collapse of the system, which would have resulted in disruption in air traffic or flight delays, by relaying and receiving information to and from their counterparts by using mobiles.
The eight to 10 hotlines at the tower stopped working between 6 am to 11 am. Airport sources said this happened because of digging work being carried out by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in the city. However, using mobiles was not without its own problems for ATCs who have to keep records of conversations with other airports. "This increased officers' workload as they had to write down important portions of their communication," said S R R Rao, Executive Director (Western Region), Airport Authority of India (AAI).
06/06/06 Naveeta S/Mumbai Mirror

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