We celebrated the World Air Traffic Controllers' Day yesterday,on the 20th October 2012 to celebrate this unique profession we are in.To thank the countless men and women who do not expect to be thanked for their work, but we do just that while also recognizing their dedication to this profession and their outstanding performances on a daily basis despite all odds.

The Air Traffic Control profession is one that requires highly specialized knowledge, skills and abilities. Air traffic controllers must work rapidly with speed and efficiently to coordinate the succinct movement of air traffic while ensuring its safe separation and maintaining total concentration. They must understand complex situations and make quick decisions while managing multiple flights at a time.

Air traffic controllers have an incredible amount of responsibility and the profession is subject to some of the strictest physical and mental medical requirements, making it one that is consistently regarded around the world as one of the most challenging.

Airports Authority of India manages one of the biggest airspace in the world whichencompasses huge area of oceanic airspace in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea area.

The air traffic services are provided through eleven area control centers at Mumbai, Delhi,Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Nagpur, Trivandrum, Guwahati, Manglore and Hyderabad.

Radar services are provided at all area control centers. Control towers are established for the control of aerodrome/approach traffic at all controlled aerodromes.

Air traffic in India has registered a rapid growth in the recent past and is forecast to multiply further in the immediate future.  The phenomenal rate of growth has resulted in air traffic congestion and delay at many airports and in the Indian airspace.  To address the growing needs of upgrading the ATM system, the AAI proposes to take up the following:-

- Upgradation of Ground Infrastructure e.g. provision of parallel runways,
rapid exit taxiways,connecting taxiways at all major airports.

With the introduction of new generation surveillance and communication capabilities and the concept of Upper Airspace harmonization a plan is now underway by AAI to restructure the entire Indian Air Space ,to transform the 11 Area Control Centres to initially 4 and ultimately 2 Area Control Centres.The pilot project of upper air space harmonization in the Chennai FIR has won accolades from one and all.With the introduction of ATS Automation in 38 major and small airports in India and first time introduction of integrated RADAR feeds,ADS B in India,there has been a fast development to provide the Air Travellers nothing but the BEST.