The radio at the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is reportedly faulty with pilots getting disconnected en-flight, raising the risk for accidents.
ATC is an indispensible part of any flight as it is responsible for giving all flight-related permissions to the pilots.
The pilots constantly remain connected to the control tower through radio but the lack of modern radio technology at the airport is causing suffering to both pilots and controllers and putting the aircraft at risk of accidents.
According to sources, Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh (CAAB) employees at the ATC tower give directions to the pilots round the clock.
They are responsible for giving directions on speed control, weather information, give permissions for take-off and landing, taxiing and parking through separate radio channels.
Moreover, since the old radar system remains closed for maintenance from 2 pm to 8 am on Saturdays, pilots have to rely entirely on radio systems.
Backdated radar and poor radio system combined with a lack of maintenance means the air traffic controllers remain under pressure all the time.
Former CAAB director Nurul Islam told Bangla Tribune that the back dated systems have become a problem with flight operations increasing and technical faults keeping controllers under constant pressure.
Pilots from various airlines said that they have difficulty in connecting with the ATC and there have been times when the controllers didn’t get their messages and they couldn’t hear the controllers either.
They said that at first they had thought that the problem was with the aircraft radio but later realized that the problem was with the tower.
Take-offs and landings are crucial times and its imperative to remain connected with the tower at that time, they said and added that not getting clear messages may lead to accidents and a swift solution is a must.
A CAAB employee wishing to remain anonymous said that the manpower at the traffic control tower didn’t increase in proportion to the flights that currently operating.
“A speedy solution is a must to keep the country’s airspace safe,” he said.
CAAB Chairman Md Mofidur Rahman said that aircraft navigation and communication have become automated during modern times.
“We are trying to incorporate such a system. We’ll soon have a air traffic management system where radar, navigation and communication system is integrated,” he said.
He added that the government will soon clear the integration making flights much safer.