The lives of around 64 passengers on board a JetLite aircraft flying
from Rajkot to Mumbai was put to risk recently when two air traffic
controllers monitoring the flight operations at Rajkot airport were made
to work for 11 hours continuously, as the flight was delayed due to a
technical snag. Airport authorities, however, blamed manpower shortage
for their inability to provide a back-up.
As per the aviation safety regulations set up by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), an air traffic controller cannot be made to work beyond seven hours, as fatigue creeps in after that, which may lead to lapse in judgement on his/her part which could turn catastrophic. A reliever is to be provided once the controller finishes his/her duty hours, the ATC manual says.
When contacted, RP Srivastav, Air Traffic Control (ATC) in-charge at Rajkot airport, admitted to a breach of DGCA rules on Saturday night. "It was due to staff shortage, and the issue has been taken to the higher authorities," he told dna.
According to sources, the incident happened after the flight, which was lined up at Rajkot airport for take-off around 8.30pm, faced a last-minute technical snag and had to be brought back to taxi bay.
Read news in full 26/08/14 Daily News & Analysis
As per the aviation safety regulations set up by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), an air traffic controller cannot be made to work beyond seven hours, as fatigue creeps in after that, which may lead to lapse in judgement on his/her part which could turn catastrophic. A reliever is to be provided once the controller finishes his/her duty hours, the ATC manual says.
When contacted, RP Srivastav, Air Traffic Control (ATC) in-charge at Rajkot airport, admitted to a breach of DGCA rules on Saturday night. "It was due to staff shortage, and the issue has been taken to the higher authorities," he told dna.
According to sources, the incident happened after the flight, which was lined up at Rajkot airport for take-off around 8.30pm, faced a last-minute technical snag and had to be brought back to taxi bay.
Read news in full 26/08/14 Daily News & Analysis
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