From Our Correspondent
Agartala: The Agartala Airport, second busiest airport in the Northeast region shortly will have modern equipments like Automation System and Automation Dependent Surveillance (TDS) for better air traffic as well safety.
While Automation System will provide pictorial flight movement to the Air Traffic Controller (ATC), the TDS will give exact location of the flight moving around the airport and its vicinity.
Now, the TDS is working in three NE airports- Guwhati, Imphal and Dibrugarh. “With the introduction of TDS, the air traffic management will be better and full-proof safety as this will give exact location of the flights”, said Director of Agartala Airport SD Barman here on Sunday. Asserting that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is focusing on safety and efficiency of air traffic, Barman said, the TDS will be able to keep surveillance on the sky round the clock.
“All the facilities have already been accommodated at the newly built ATS building and if everything falls in right place the new ATS building will be operational by this month”, he said.
Besides, a number of modernization plans have been stalled due to space constraint, he said adding that efforts are on to recover leased land to push forward the modernization plan.
It may be noted that the AAI had leased 15,584 square land to the CPWD way back in 1989 and the airport authority is supposed to get rent amounting to Rs. 2.86 crore. However, the CPWD has not paid the rent to the AAI for long time despite repeated persuasions.
Meanwhile, the high level meeting between AAI and CPWD which was held in Delhi on October 29 ended without any tangible outcome.
The meeting was initiated to break the impasse over land meant of expansion plan for Agartala Airport. However, sources claimed another round of meeting is scheduled to be held later this month.