The Hindu : Pilot on a goodwill mission

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 21, 2002

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National

Pilot on a goodwill mission

By T.S. Shankar

CHENNAI April 20. His mission as a seasoned pilot is to ensure goodwill among neighbours. And, to make sure that the air space in which he and others cruise remains safe and hassle-free.

``We have seen many things of the varied developments of air traffic services in India — and many of the facilities are similar to what we have in Bangkok. There is enough room for us to share expertise in specific areas and programmes on enhancement of air traffic services to help keep pace with the global aviation scenario without incurring too much expenditure," the President of Aero Thai, Padet Limpisvasti, said here on Friday.

Beginning his safe-skies mission from his hometown of Bangkok, Capt. Limpisvasti is leading a 8-member delegation of Aero Thai comprising young pilots and maintenance engineers.

Covering Kolkata, Yangon, Dhaka, Bagdogra, Darjeeling, Varanasi, New Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, Goa, before landing in Chennai, the Aero Thai president, piloting a 11-seater Superking Air B-200 aircraft, shared his experiences and impressions about his visit to the Rs. 20 crore-Air Traffic Services (ATS) complex in Chennai.

``We have been working in parallel for so long. And we have developed teachers, equipment, and expertise. But, we have never really shared this expertise even though our countries are not so far apart," Capt. Limpisvasti said in an interview to The Hindu before flying back to Bangkok.

Elaborating on the importance of the recent technological developments in air traffic management and avionics, in particular, Capt. Limpisvasti, who has a passion for flying and holds to his credit of 2,000 hours of flying experience piloting more than 50 different types of aircraft, both civilian and military, felt that India had made considerable progress in the aviation sector.

Explaining that there were two functions of Aero Thai, provision of air traffic services and airport management, he observed that with the introduction of satellite-based systems, advanced air traffic services were coming into operation.

``I am quite impressed with overall facilities of the ATS complex in Chennai, especially the aeronautical facilities. It is commendable to note that so far as the air traffic management by the AAI is concerned, it is not only quite noteworthy but also interesting," Capt. Limpisvasti said before taking off for Visakhapatnam en route to Kolkata.

The Southern Regional Executive Director of national airports division of the Airports Authority of India (NAD-AAI), S.R.R. Rao, and the General Manager (Aerodromes) of NAD-AAI, G.B. Subramanian, said the visit of the Aero Thai President would lead to better understanding and cooperation of fellow air traffic service providers in the adjoining flight information regions coming under the jurisdiction of the neighbouring country — Thailand.

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