AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

PBN implementation in India for enhanced TMA operations

Why PBN?
Consistent high growth rate of in civil aviation in India in the recent past and burgeoning
fleet size of the airlines with the induction of new generation modern aircraft has necessitated
the need for quick and rapid upgradation of facilities, procedures and infrastructure. The ICAO
mandate for the implementation of PBN procedures both in enroute and terminal area has
come as a boon towards optimizing airspace utility and efficient management of terminal
airspace at two busiest airports in India-Mumbai
and Delhi which were the focus of traffic growth.

As the majority airline fleet comprised of

new generation modern aircraft that are equipped
with enhanced navigation capabilities,
implementation of PBN has been found to be an
appropriate option to exploit the onboard navigation capabilities coupled with operational
procedures to achieve enhanced airspace utilization
through efficient, reliable, predictable and
repeatable flight paths optimum solution to the
traffic complexities arising out of growth.

Mumbai and Delhi being the major airports

handling bulk of the arrival and departure traffic in
India, PBN implementation has been considered at these two airport/terminal airspace with the
primary objective of achieving enhanced safety, efficiency, environmental and operational
benefits for aircraft operations in the TMA.

PBN implementation strategy

In order to develop a process that could be further
extended to other airports/airspaces in India, an
integrated approach was adopted which include
• Analysis of the current and future air traffic scenario
• Airspace capacity
• Runway capacity
• Airspace constraints
• Reorganization of air routes and airspace
• Air traffic control procedures
• Airline Fleet analysis
• Navigation infrastructure analysis
Above assessment combined with knowledge of
user expectation and operational requirements can lead to
improved airspace design. Towards this objective,
participation and contribution of airlines, pilots, regulator,
air traffic controllers and airport operators was considered
essential.

Since India is managing one of the largest airspace

in Asia-Pacific Region and also large number of airports,
the long-term strategy for PBN implementation is to
develop in-house capability for the airspace
analysis/design, PBN procedure design, safety assessment
and training.
PBN procedure development and implementation framework
India adopted a collaborative approach to develop in-house skills. M/s MITRE Corp, USA
has been a strategic partner in this endeavor. The process of development of PBN procedures
and implementation framework for Mumbai and Delhi airports was thru the MITRE experts
with the active participation and involvement of Indian
experts with hands-on training. Indian experts
subsequently developed the procedures for Ahmadabad
airport independently under the supervision of MITRE
experts. Thru this process the implementation of PBN
procedures at two major airports could be achieved in a
time-bound manner and also knowledge-transfer and skill-development of Indian experts as a
long term investment.

Regulatory requirements/guidelines for aircraft

operational and airworthiness approval, flight crew
training, ATC personnel training were also complied with.
Controller training constituted an important activity in
the process, as PBN procedures required a different
approach to handling air traffic compared to tactical radar control. In the post-implementation
review, effectiveness of the procedures is assessed and limitation and constraint noted for
improvement. The review of the procedures is an ongoing process and will lead to further
enhancement and better management of flight paths.

Lessons learnt
• Being the first project for the implementation of
PBN in India, a well coordinated and collaborative
approach involving various stakeholders in the
process of PBN procedure development, from the
 beginning, has been found to be very effective and successful.
• Valuable inputs from the operational point of view from the pilots and controllers
has been very useful in the PBN procedure design process has proved to be
advantageous in optimization of the procedures.
• Post-implementation review has been a very effective tool to retain focus on the
continual improvements.
• PBN implementation has provided following benefits:
o Enhanced safety by de-conflicting the arrival and departure routes with
predictable flight paths.
o Repeatability of flight path resulted in minimized tactical radar vectoring,
thereby enhancing operational efficiency of the controllers and pilots.
o Significant reduction in controller-pilot communication
o Reduced fuel burn due to shortened flight legs as compared to conventional
SIDs.

Ongoing PBN activities in India

Currently, PBN RNAV-1 SIDs and STARs for Chennai airport have been developed and
will be implemented shortly. In compliance to ICAO Regional Implementation guidelines, a PBN
Roadmap of India has been prepared. The roadmap provides detailed strategy of PBN
implementation in enroute airspace, terminal airspace and approach with Baro-VNAV and RNP
procedures.
The broad range of activities performed during development, design and
implementation of PBN procedures, has provided an opportunity to develop in-house
capabilities in airspace analysis, PBN procedure development and evaluation, training and
implementation.

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