How three men control India’s busiest airport this week

As one plane hovers above, there is another waiting outside. The entire runway is filled chock-a-block with seven aircraft. “The only solution is to make these planes unload as fast as possible and take off quickly. We sometimes call them to unload fast because the there are aircraft waiting above,” said Squadron leader M.A. Kumar. It is not just Air Force planes but there are also international aircraft from Dubai, Sweden, Denmark, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia and Israel.

This time it is not just different accents which foxes these people but also the fact that till today, there were no basic navigational aids which are a must for every ATC. Even the radar and beacons had been completely destroyed.

So what has ensured the smooth movement of traffic? “We depend on just plain principles of landing and departure in the absence of these instruments,” said Squadron Leader R. Vishwanath. The principle being that no aircraft should cross each other without a minimum of 20 miles difference between the two.

On one table, the three men have divided their work — one official is on the radio clearing departures. The second coordinates movement with air defence and regualates climb and descent and the third obtains clearances from various agencies for flights to enter the airspace.

For them it is almost like war time, at night when electric lights on the runway fails, they use goosenecks (containers filled with kerosene and wick) to light up the side of the runway. They are also working on a single frequency in contrast to the multiple frequencies which are being used by bigger airports. “It is only today that we have got a few other instruments which will make our job much easier,” said M.A. Kumar.

According to them, the traffic is expected to go up because many more foreign agencies are flying in for rebuilding the destroyed cities. “After operating under these restraints, we know we can handle any pressure,” said Vishwanath, clearing yet another form for the waiting Turkish plane.