Flexible use of airspace can contribute to safety
The Dollar Business Bureau
Flexible use of airspace under Civil Military Cooperation is possibly one of the few major initiatives which can contribute to the four crucial needs of any country - safety, efficiency, capacity and environment.
To discuss and deliberate on the issue of Civil Military Cooperation and flexible use of airspace, an International Civil Aviation Organisation and Asia Pacific Civil Military Cooperation (ICAO APAC) regional conference was organized on May 19th and 20th in New Delhi.
The conference was inaugurated by Smt M Sathiyavathy IAS, Director General of Civil Aviation, Government of India. She touched upon the strong relationship between the Armed Forces of the Union and State aircraft operators and the Civil Aviation Regulator and ANSP, for the last 70 years.
In his welcome address, the Member ANS mentioned the achievements of AAI as an Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) and its unique role of serving as a catalyst in Civil Military Cooperation.
S Raheja, Chairman, AAI was the special guest at the event. In his special address, he pointed out the fact that several new ATS routes that include conditional routes are the result of excellent Civil Military Cooperation in India.
Len Wicks, the ICAO Asia Pacific RO-ATM, said that India has performed creditably in Civil Military Cooperation and the ICAO APAC Office recognises the excellent work in progress.
Wicks also placed on record ICAO APAC’s appreciation of the generic template of the Manual on flexible use of airspace which is showcased as a model document for the States in the region.
The two-day conference was attended by 130 delegates that included representatives from ICAO APAC office at Bangkok, regional sub-office at Beijing, and civil and military representatives from India and other countries such as Uganda, Indonesia and Malaysia.
