Hyderabad: Air Marshal B. Chandra Sekhar, Commandant, Air Force Academy (AFA), acknowledged the critical role of air traffic controllers in military aviation and the importance of air traffic services in supporting economic growth without hampering the operations of the armed forces.
He emphasised on the need to facilitate usage of restricted airspace for expediting traffic, essentially with large number of IAF airfields being opened up to civil aircraft operations.
He was speaking after reviewing the graduation ceremony at the Air Traffic Control Officers Training Establishment (ATCOTE), of the AFA at Dundigal here, to mark the completion of the 144th Air Traffic Surveillance Services (ATSS) course.
A statement said the ATCOTE was equipped with state-of-the-art simulators to train from the tri-services, Coast Guard, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and officers from friendly countries in air traffic services. Its Integrated Radar and 3D Visual Flight Rules Tower Simulator (IRVTS) is one of its kind ‘Make-in India’ projects.
The ATSS course is a three-month long, mid-level course for training qualified air traffic controllers in the usage of radar. The course equips these controllers to maintain expeditious and orderly flow of air traffic. Seventeen officers including 11 from the IAF, three from the Indian Navy, one each from the from Coast Guard, HAL and officer from the Nigerian Air Force were part of the course.
