India responds to Lanka SOS, with ATCs

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already identified around 25-30 controllers who can be sent to Sri Lanka to take care of any immediate disruption of traffic, said senior officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry.

And though internal negotiations are on in Colombo to avert the crisis, this would be the first time that Indian controllers are pressed into action in a foreign country. To begin with, these controllers will man only the main trunk routes.

Officials said the International Civil Aviation Organisation calls for preparing a contingency plan to manage main trunk routes in case of any industrial unrest. And the AAI, in co-ordination with Sri Lankan authorities, is believed to have worked out such a plan for the island nation.

The controllers identified by the AAI are mainly from the southern region, sources said, as they were familiar with the nature of traffic entering or passing through Sri Lankan airspace.

However, there could be hurdles in implementing the decision as the terms and conditions that would apply on Indian controllers in case of a mistake or violation is not clear, said sources.

The Civil Aviation Ministry is toying with a suggestion to quickly work out a memorandum of understanding, setting out the terms and conditions of services to be offered by Indian controllers.

Apart from direct flights to Colombo and other tourist destinations, many international flights pass through Sri Lankan airspace to South East Asian destinations—they will be immediately affected in case the talks at Colombo fail tonight.