Civilian aircraft may cruise into defence airspace

The civil aviation ministry has signed an agreement with the defence ministry for building synergies between defence and civilian airports. The broad proposal is to maximise the air space utilisation in the Indian skies. The agreement will enable the domestic carriers to use defence airfields when not in use. The two ministries have carved out five zones — North, South, East, West and Central — to facilitate cooperation among them.
The joint management of air space will help the government in managing the congestion in the skies, especially at major airports such as Delhi and Mumbai. It will also be of special help during the fog season as various diverted planes may be able to land and take off from the nearest defence airport.
Civil aviation ministry is evolving a joint flexible airspace management mechanism to utilise the defence airports and airstrips. The agreement between the two ministries would also lead to cost efficiencies as civilian planes can fly over the defence air space to minimise the distance between two points, he added.
06/01/07 Sunny Verma/Economic Times

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