Plane old economy

Can there be a more perverse demonstration of administrative apathy than the fact that aircraft carrying Indian VVIPs are technologically challenged? The common and empirically tested wisdom is that whatever may be going wrong with services for the aam aadmi, the khaas aadmi doesn8217;t have to worry; the state lays out the best for the latter. Evidence to the contrary is now widely circulating thanks to air traffic control8217;s 8216;procedural lapse8217; over the IAF special plane ferrying Sonia Gandhi. IAF8217;s specially managed squad of Boeing 737s for VVIP domestic flights lacks a feature 8212; the ability to fly safely at reduced vertical distance between two aircraft 8212; commonplace in passenger aircraft everywhere. It is instructive to note that the sarkari solution to VVIP aircraft lacking the feature has been to instruct air traffic control to remember the planes8217; 8216;special status8217;. This is so old economy.

RVSM, reduced vertical separation minima, was introduced globally to maintain safety standards in the face of air traffic congestion. India was late in adopting RVSM. But when it did, about four years back, it had started experiencing the first stages of an air travel boom. Air traffic congestion was becoming an incipient reality. The days of a few Indian Airlines planes mostly carrying government officials around were already history. Since then low-cost carriers and general competition-related pressure on ticket prices have changed the profile of civil aviation in India. But as the sky got crowded with the aam aadmi flying like never before, it was still thought that according 8216;special status8217; to VVIP planes would be enough. Naturally, a clause was introduced to make an exception for VVIP aircraft. Clauses, however, can8217;t always hold back progress. VVIP arrangements have to keep pace with citizens8217; economic empowerment, this is a basic lesson from a fast-growing democracy. It is about time the IAF and everyone else concerned with VVIP travel learnt it.

To begin with, IAF special planes should be upgraded to being RVSM compliant. Second, a close scrutiny of VVIP travel facilities should be undertaken. Embrears were acquired some time back. But these planes are unsuitable for large VVIP entourages. Plus, prime-ministerial travel arrangements can do with an upgrade. There8217;s absolutely no reason why India8217;s leaders shouldn8217;t be travelling better 8212; India8217;s citizens are.