It is shocking that two air accidents occurred on the same day recently. One was when a Mumbai -bound Jet airways flight with 154 passengers skidded off at Goa airport. The other was when a major mishap was averted at Delhi airport as an Indigo and a SpiceJet aircraft collided on the same runway. These two incidents took place shortly after there was a near miss early this month as a Jet airways flight and an Alliance Air ATR craft nearly crashed into each other at Nagpur. The number of such close shaves has been steadily growing since 2011. The rise has been calamitous – 78%- between January and May this year over the corresponding period last year. India’s air safety infrastructure appears to be in a shocking state. Air Traffic Control (ATC) is extremely short staffed. In fact, the staff strength is only a quarter of the sanctioned staff strength. India’s aviation sector is said to be booming and so all these facts are extremely deplorable.
It is suggested that ATC should be separated from the bureaucratic Airport Authority of India (AAI). ATC will then be free from the shackles of officialdom. An efficient, professional body of air controllers is urgently wanted. They have to under great stress and require high skills. Consequently they need to be adequately compensated financially. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that he is keen on taking tough decisions to bring about reforms. Making ATC an independent department should not be a tough decision. It is imperative that disasters in the air should be averted and air safety should be given due attention. It is especially necessary because railway accidents are becoming very frequent.