Mission ISHAN: An Unified Airspace Management Initiative in India
Mission ISHAN is set to revolutionize India’s air traffic management by consolidating fragmented airspace regions into a unified system managed from Nagpur, promising enhanced efficiency, safety, and capacity.
Image Source: JetArena
India is set to transform its airspace management with Mission ISHAN, an ambitious initiative to centralize control from Nagpur, enhancing efficiency and safety across the skies. Currently, the country’s airspace is divided into four independently managed flight information regions (FIRs) and a sub-FIR, creating coordination challenges and inefficiencies.
Mission ISHAN aims to integrate these regions into a single system, streamlining operations and increasing capacity to meet growing demand. This centralization will result in smoother coordination, reduced congestion, and shorter flight times, benefiting both airlines and passengers with cost savings and improved convenience.
Implementing this system will require significant technological upgrades, process revisions, and comprehensive personnel training. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) emphasizes the need for a thorough study to address current and future air traffic demands, focusing on minimizing surveillance and communication gaps.
Air Marshal Anil Chopra highlights the safety and efficiency gains, noting that centralized control from Nagpur will offer a broader view of air traffic, enabling flexible routing, reduced fuel consumption, and lower carbon emissions. This shift will also reduce the workload for air traffic controllers, enhancing operational safety.
Inspired by the Indian Air Force’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), Mission ISHAN seeks to bring real-time, comprehensive airspace management to civilian aviation, promising improved emergency response and heightened situational awareness.
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