Mumbai ATC faces acute staff shortage; 5 flight collisions nearly missed in past 4 months

In worrying news, five collisions between passenger jets were avoided in the Mumbai airspace over the past four months.

In each of the incidents, two passenger jets came within a mere 30 seconds of colliding with each other, according to The Times of India . Moreover, apart from these major incidents, the Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC) registered nothing less than 21 ‘reportable incidents’ which could have turned into mishaps between January and April this year, added the report.

“It’s resounding proof that air traffic control officer (ATCO) shortage in the Mumbai ATC has reached dangerous levels,” TOI quoted a senior air traffic controller as saying.

The shortfall between the number of controllers required and present is 43 percent in Mumbai, as 255 controllers do the job of 455 in the city. The average controller shortage stands at 10 percent. Moreover, the number of planes in Mumbai airspace increased by 74,000 between 2013 and April 2015, said the report.

“Today, Mumbai is the most difficult ATC centre in India to get posted to,” another controller told TOI.

What complicates the problem of acute staff shortage in the Mumbai ATC further is the incessant rain that has been lashing the city for the last few days.

Flight operations at the city airport were delayed by 30 minutes and three services had to be diverted on Friday due to the rains, according to PTI.

“The airport is operational but the flights are delayed by 30 minutes,” a spokesperson for the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) had said.

“The delays are due to ‘ATC congestion’ as the rain has affected flight timings,” the spokesperson added.

(With inputs from PTI)