The Airports Authority of India (AAI), New Delhi, has formulated a new Standard Instrument Arrival (STAR) and Standard Instrument Departure (SID) procedure exclusively for Tiruchi international airport to enhance safety and reduce time delay of flights.

Once implemented after getting approval from the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, the new procedures would pave the way in saving aviation turbine fuel for the airlines and reduce carbon emission.

The STAR and the SID procedures had been incorporated into the Air Traffic Services automation system at the Tiruchi airport for “examination”.

They would be fed into the Flight Management System of the domestic and overseas flights.

The new procedures would reduce voice communication between the air traffic controller and the pilot and eliminate scope of any communication errors, says K. Jebaraj, the Officiating Airport Director, Tiruchi. The SID and the STAR are expected to be implemented by September end.

Once the system is in place, the air traffic controller would convey to the pilot the specific SID/STAR procedure to be followed. The pilot would follow it as per the data available in the FMS automatically either during landing or take off.

The new system would reduce time delay of flights by 7 to 12 minutes. Passenger safety would be further enhanced under the new system, Mr. Jebaraj said.

In all, 91 flights arrive and leave Tiruchi international airport every week. Barring the Jet Airways, the rest are overseas flights flying to different destinations such as Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Dubai.

The international airlines being operated are Air India, Sri Lankan Airlines, Tiger Airways, Malindo, and Air Asia.