Airports Authority of India (AAI)

Airports Authority of India (AAI)

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is an organization working under the Ministry of Civil Aviation that manages all the airports in India.

The AAI manages and operates 126 airports including 11 international airports, 89 domestic airports and 26 civil enclaves. The corporate headquarters are at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Safdarjung Airport, New Delhi.

The AAI was formed on 1 April 1995 by merging the National Airports Authority (NAA) and the International Airports Authority of India (IAAI), to create a centralized organization that could effectively manage both the international and domestic airports.

AAI has four training establishments –

1. The Civil Aviation Training College (CATC) at Allahabad
2. National Institute of Aviation Management and Research (NIAMAR) at Delhi
3. Fire Training Centers (FTC) at Delhi & Kolkata

Functions of AAI –

1. Design, Development, Operation and Maintenance of international and domestic airports and civil enclaves.
2. Control and Management of the Indian airspace extending beyond the territorial limits of the country, as accepted by ICAO.
3. Construction, Modification and Management of passenger terminals.
4. Development and Management of cargo terminals at international and domestic airports.
5. Provision of passenger facilities and information system at the passenger terminals at airports.
6. Expansion and strengthening of operation area, viz. Runways, Aprons, Taxiway etc.
7. Provision of visual aids.
8. Provision of Communication and Navigation aids, viz. ILS, DVOR, DME, Radar etc.

Image Courtesy - aai.aero

image courtesy - aai.aero

Role of AAI –

1. The function of the Authority to manage the airports, the civil enclaves and the aeronautical communication stations efficiently.
2. To provide air traffic service and air transport service at any airport and civil enclaves.
3. Plan, develop, construct and maintain runways, taxiways, aprons and terminals and ancillary buildings at the airports and civil enclaves.
4. Plan, procure, install and maintain navigational aids, communication equipment, beacons and ground aids at the airports and at such locations as may be considered necessary for safe navigation and operation of aircrafts.
5. Provides air safety services and search and rescue, facilities in co-ordination with other agencies.
6. Establish schools or institutions or centers for the training of its officers and employees in regard to any matter connected with the purposes.
7. Establish warehouses and cargo complexes at the airports for the storage or processing of goods.
8. Develop and provide consultancy, construction or management services, and undertake operations in India and abroad in relation to airports, air-navigation services, ground aids and safety services or any facilities thereat.
9. Perform any function considered necessary or desirable by the Central Government for ensuring the safe and efficient operation of aircraft to, from and across the air space of India.
10. Any other activity at the airports and the civil enclaves in the best commercial interests of the Authority including cargo handling, setting up of joint ventures for the discharge of any function assigned to the Authority.

AAI’s major ANS initiatives include:

1. AAI is implementing a Satellite Based Navigation System, called GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Satellite Navigation) to provide SBAS services over the Indian subcontinent, capable of regional expansion to South East Asia.
2. Provision of a robust CNS infrastructure with highest standards of reliability, availability and integrity.
3. A major ATM initiative to restructure the Indian airspace into 4 ACCs from the existing 11 ACCs by integrating the new generation surveillance and communication technologies and Upper Airspace Harmonization.
4. Chennai FIR has been restructured in 2011, by creating dynamically operated Upper and Lower Area Centers, providing seamless ANS services throughout Chennai FIR. The airspace harmonization of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata FIRs is in progress.
5. For this indigenous effort, AAI has won the prestigious Jane’s ATC Award 2012 under the Operational Efficiency category.
6. AAI plans to implement a Central Air Traffic Flow Management System for balancing demand and capacity in phases, with the first phase likely by December 2012 at six major airports. AAI plans to eventually harmonies the C-ATFM system with a regional ATFM system.

Abbreviations 

ACC - Area Control Center 

ATM - Air Traffic Management

ATS - Air Traffic Service

C-ATFM - Central Air Traffic Flow Management 

CNS - Communications, Navigation and Surveillance

ILS - Instrument Landing System

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