Structure irrelevant after recent developments like extension of the runway; traffic doubled at M’lore airport, says director.
Airports are not responsible for accidents, which occur mainly due to human error and negligence. Experts made this observation at a two-day workshop on ‘Table-top airports and safety aspects’ organised by the Mangalore Airport Diamond Jubilee Committee and National Institute of Technology Karnataka.
“With the development of modern aviation electronics, aircraft guiding systems, airport lighting and radars that have become common and standard equipment even in the smallest of airports, there is no way accidents take place in airports or near the airports,” they said.
“Systems like integrated landing system (ILS) and precision airport path indicator (PAPI) make landing at any airport safe. But if pilots ignore these precision indicators and adopt a cavalier approach to aircraft operation, mishaps are bound to happen,” said D Devaraj, regional executive director, southern range.
Without referring to the air mishap on May 22, 2010, at Kenjar near Mangalore, which killed 158 passengers and crew, Devaraj said competence of pilots and precision instruments onboard make airports safe to land irrespective of their geographical features.
Union minister of corporate affairs M Veerappa Moily said the Mangalore airport would get the international tag as it had met all the safety and air traffic management norms.
He said domestic civil aviation has a bright future as the middle class is growing.
The civil aviation industry saw a 65% growth in traffic in the domestic circuit in the last decade.
“As chief minister, when I granted 10,000 acres of land for Devanahalli airport, many eyebrows were raised. Some policy-makers even questioned the practicality of having an airport away from the city. But today, the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) has become one of the busiest airports in the country with large potential for expansion,” Moily said.
He said India might need over 1,000 commercial aircraft of all classes in the next 20 years as passenger traffic is set to grow more than three times in the next 10 years. Air cargo movement was also set to grow
rapidly.
Mangalore airport director MR Vasudeva said its table-top character is irrelevant after recent developments like the extension of the runway.
“We are meeting every recommendation and prescription mentioned in the Annexure 14 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation charter and ISO certifications. The airport cannot be held responsible for pilot error. In fact, after last year’s mishap, the passenger traffic has almost doubled which means passengers trust us. So let us evict the bogey of table top airport,”
he said.
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