Revamp on airport radar

In a letter to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) headquarters in Delhi, Calcutta airport officials have sought an overhaul of all seven radar monitor sets.
“All these monitors have been running continuously for almost 10 years,” the letter stated. “Calcutta air traffic station has the busiest overflying traffic in India during nights and as a result, an advanced display terminal would benefit them (air traffic controllers) in keeping the airspace safe and efficient.”
Airport officials said “around 1,000 flights” overfly Calcutta airport, most of them at night.
“Along with modernisation of other infrastructure at the airport, navigational aids will be upgraded and plans will be drawn up accordingly,” assured S.P. S. Bakshi, regional executive director, AAI.
The monitor set is a big screen on which the aircraft position, technically known as blip, is displayed.
The secondary radar allows the controller to monitor altitude and speed in order to guide the aircraft and prevent mid-air collision.The Calcutta airport monitors are old and obsolete. The picture quality is poor and at times, the monitors malfunction, unable to bear the load.There is only one standby radar display monitor for four radar units and no radar for surveillance of ground movement of aircraft.
19/01/07 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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