TOI | New ATC tower now fully functional

Sep 03,2019

The all-new (ATC) at Delhi’s was made on its inauguration by Union minister of state for civil aviation , on Monday.

The 103-metre-high tower, the tallest in the country, was inaugurated along with the Delhi Air Traffic Services complex of Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Calling it an exciting moment in the growth of the civil aviation industry, Puri said both Delhi and Mumbai airports were making continued advancement in technology and passenger-handling capacity. “When I first boarded a flight from the Delhi airport to Japan, it was called Palam and had an annual capacity of 1.9 million passengers. Now, it is handling 70 million passengers. The industry is not only providing a boost to the economy but also to jobs,” he said.

Among the other guests were Arun Kumar, director general of Directorate General of Civil Aviation; AAI chairman Anuj Agrawal; and G B S Raju, chairman-airports. Congratulating AAI for its consistent efforts towards ensuring safe air navigation operations, civil aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said, “The commitment shown by air traffic controllers has been superb. The new tower and improved technology would aid them further.”

DGCA’s Kumar hoped that the tower would help spurt the air traffic growth at IGIA. “The tower will also provide improved visibility, which should cover the approach and parking bays along with the new runway area,” he added.

Built at a cost of Rs 350 crore, the tower has upgraded equipments and systems to enhance the safety and efficiency of air traffic management services at IGIA.