Mangalore Airport licence renewed

Mangalore Airport licence renewed

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, December 23: M.R. Vasudeva, director, Mangalore Airport, said on Wednesday that the aerodrome licence has been renewed for 2011 after an inspection by Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials.

The airport is now considered safer than several other airports in India for passengers as it matches a “safety basket” of required rules.

“The licence renewal means that the passenger is entering a safe aerodrome, which satisfies a safety basket of rules and regulations such as a runway of a specified strength, painted, marked, lighted according to ICAO documents. We have shown the officials that all these regulations are being followed here,” he said.

The airport, which had a runway of 8,038 feet, was already ready for A320, A321, A319, Boeing 737-800 aircraft, he said.

Mr. Vasudeva said an inspection team consisting of DGCA officials including J. S. Rawat, Deputy Director-General, DGCA, checked and certified the airport.

“They inspected various facilities and found them working to their satisfaction and expectations,” he said.

The inspection took place over a period of time with two visits by the team.

Once in September and another in May-June.

When asked if the Mangalore airport was still defined as a “critical airfield” by the DGCA, Mr. Vasudeva said: “The term critical airfield was not mentioned anywhere in the ICAO. There were many airports positioned on top of a hill. But I can say that this airport is safer than many others.”

“The inspection team wanted some specific documents and we have supplied them,” he said.

The required documents include the aerodrome manual and the safety management system (SMS) manual.

The aerodrome manual looked at features of the airport such as the runway, the taxi, aerobridges, and apron, which were all checked. Also, air traffic control (ATC), navigation, surveillance, systems, and length of markings were checked, he said.

The team checked if the airport records proved what the SMS manual laid down.

“The team checked to see there was no gap between what we said and our work, and if it is being done according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines,” he said.

“They had asked for certain processes to be completed and we have done that. There are more requirements that we are working towards. It is a continuous process,” he said.

Mangalore airport was compliant with ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 but the significance of the aerodrome licence renewal was that it was all-encompassing as it was a must for operational requirements, he said.

PIL still on

When asked about the PIL case that was filed by a Bangalore-based lawyer that the licence of the airport had expired, he said: “That case is still on in the courts. We had been asked if the airport has a licence and we have submitted the documents before the courts. Since then, the DGCA has not said anything contrary and the licence is continuing.” thehindu