NEW DELHI: To meet growing manpower needs for air traffic management, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will create additional posts of air traffic control officers.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma today said there is no acute shortage of air traffic control officers (ATCOs).

"In order to meet the current and future requirements i.e. to cope with the growing requirement of air space and air traffic management, the AAI board has approved creation of add ..

"In order to meet the current and future requirements i.e. to cope with the growing requirement of air space and air traffic management, the AAI board has approved creation of additional posts of ATCOs in various grades," he said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Through US-based Washington Consultancy Group, AAI had conducted a study on long-term manpower requirement for air traffic management.

"As per this report, the requirement of ATCOs would be 3,599 up to the year 2020. The report of WCG was reviewed by AAI and replaced it with ATM Staffing Policy & Guidelines in November 2015 which is implemented in a phased manner and inducted 169 ATCOs in 2015," Sharma said.

To a separate query, the minister said that in the last three years, the government has given 'in-principle' approval for setting up of a greenfield international airport at Dholera in Gujarat.

Besides, the government has granted 'site clearance' for "greenfield airports at Bhiwadi (Alwar) in Rajasthan and at three locations in Andhra Pradesh, namely Bhogapuram (Vijayanagaram), Dagadarthi (Nellore) and Oravakallu (Kurnool)", he noted.

The minister also said construction work at the Kannur airport is at an advanced stage of completion and that the trial landing was completed on February 29.

According to Sharma, the government extends its full support to AAI in terms of grant-in-aid for execution of airport projects on need basis, apart from pursuing state governments for providing adequate land and facilitating mandatory approvals for construction of projects.