Collision course on land

New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) believes that with airlines opening up new destinations, it makes good economic sense to create “civil enclaves” at existing military airfields, rather than spend Rs 500-600 crore building a separate airport.
But now, with 14 scheduled airlines jostling for business, there is increasing friction between the IAF’s military requirements and the AAI’s need to provide infrastructure to a gaggle of airlines, all clamouring for more operating time and better civilian facilities.
Newer and bigger airliners make newer and bigger demands on military airfields. Instead of the 6000-foot runway at many IAF bases, today's wide-bodied aircraft need 7,500 feet. And aprons that accommodated two earlier-generation aircraft, must now be expanded to cater to three or four larger modern aircraft.
As far as the IAF is concerned, these requirements are secondary to its own priorities of security and training.
AAI officials insist that growth in civil aviation is being stunted by the IAF's reluctance to make space for civil operations. They cite examples like Pune, which is both the home base of the IAF's frontline Sukhoi-30 fighters and a fast-growing civilian traffic hub.
The IAF has only partially granted requests for landing and take-off slots from airlines like Deccan, Kingfisher and Go Air, because morning and evening timings that suit passengers clash with the training schedules of Su-30 fighters.
Air traffic controllers are another sore point: the IAF says its ATCs are overworked just handling fighter training. With restrictions on how long an ATC can be on duty, the IAF doesn't have enough manpower to extend operating hours for civil traffic.
Top AAI officials say they are willing to negotiate reasonably, but the IAF’s tendency to focus on what it is giving rather than what it is getting, causes hard feelings.
31/01/07 Business Standard

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