RVSM: India Having Troubles "Multi-Laning" Air Traffic

A few foreign reports caught our eye as Indian aviation officials have tried (in vain, at times) to deal with the realities of RVSM (Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum) implementation. Media reports tried to describe it as something akin to widening a major highway from two lanes to eight, while missing the complexities of the issues involved in running more "heavy" traffic in less airspace, safely and efficiently (the backbone of the RVSM concept.). 

For many years, aircraft above 28,000 feet have been separated by at least 2000 feet since barometric errors made such tolerances a necessary evil (as seen in the graphic below...).

Worse, as altitude increased, the accuracy of pressure sensing Barometric altimeters basically went to hell. In 1960, decision were made to increase separation at and above Flight Level (FL) 290 from 1000 ft to 2000 ft. ICAO adopted a standard global FL290 changeover level in 1966. Recently; as technology allowed for better differentiation and determination of actual altitude, the 2000 foot separations inherent in high altitude air travel came to (properly) be viewed as a "waste of space."

Hence, RVSM

Already implemented in nearby Europe and North Africa (and proceeding at a snail's pace in the USA), since January of 2002, the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum in European Airspace has provided six additional flight levels between 29,000 feet (FL290) and 41,000 feet (FL410) inclusive. Below 28,000 feet This has been achieved by reducing the separation minimums between aircraft from 2,000 ft to just 1,000 ft. The RVSM Programme has been implemented simultaneously in the airspace of some 41 European and North African countries.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to adopt this "multi-lane" system to expand available commercial air routes across the nation. The adoption of RVSM protocols boosts the number of flights in the air at the same time and, hopefully, boosts the number of paying passengers going from Point A to Point B.

Here's The Catch

Airlines operating in India are just now starting to get with the RVSM program and trouble is brewing. "Four-laning or eight-laning of roads increases efficiency, cuts down travelling time and eases traffic flow, multiple-laning of the existing air corridor will have the same effect," explains AAI Member (Operations) K. Ramalingam,somewhat simplistically. Already, the number of routes available across India has grown dramatically. More expansion is expected. But... these protocols require new procedures, equipment (in the aircraft as well as in the air traffic facilities monitoring them) and special certification.

Controllers Grumbling

Over the past six months, 21 countries have adopted RVSM systems and procedures, many of them reporting some amount of difficulty in merging new routes and procedures with the older, more familiar, less restrictive ones. Such is the case in India - especially in the northern part of the country. "It is like a village lane merging with a highway. This hampers movement on the main corridor and increases pressure on the controller," said a senior AAI official.

But the controllers themselves are reported to be grumbling about RVSM, saying they were never issued proper manuals or guidelines. In fact, they say, the only people who've been briefed on the new procedures are the most senior of air traffic officials - and even those guidelines have been termed "sketchy."

FMI: www.civilaviation.nic.in/aai/airport.htm