Airport kicks off two-hour trials at new ATC tower
Times of India | 25 March 2025
12 Kolkata: Controllers took charge of the new air traffic control (ATC) tower on Monday afternoon and guided arriving and departing flights for two hours at Kolkata airport. The first flight operation by controllers from the new facility was an IndiGo aircraft arriving from Bengaluru.
Around 40 flights touched down and took off between 2 pm and 4 pm when live trials were carried out at the new facility. However, the pilot had no clue that the communication was from the new ATC. The trials will continue for two hours from Monday to Friday over the next three months.
On Monday, eight controllers were present in the new facility along with technicians from the communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) department. While the controllers at the new ATC radioed pilots and guided planes into and out of Kolkata airport, a second set of controllers remained on standby at the existing ATC, ready to take over should a problem arise. But there was no such requirement on Monday.