Air traffic ground controller reinstated

One of the de-rostered air traffic controllers in Mumbai was released for duty on Friday; the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was expected to re-roster the other too. “Our ground controller has been re-rostered and we expect the second controller to be re-rostered soon,” said M.G. Jhungare,general manager,ATC.

They had been de-rostered after a Kingfisher ATR aircraft with 42 passengers and four crewmembers skidded off the runway on Tuesday. The incident has been categorised as an accident under ICAO guidelines. A decision on whether to continue with shortened runway operations on Tuesdays is likely to be taken on Saturday. Officials are confident that Tuesday operations would be cleared.

“We had an assessment meeting today and a decision whether to continue with shortened runway operations on Tuesdays will be taken tomorrow after all security parameters are assessed,” said DG,Dr Naseem Zaidi.

Sources said that the DGCA is,however,likely to introduce new restrictions on shortened runway operations.