5.1.3. Airports Authority of India (AAI)

AAI is a PSU under the Ministry of Civil Aviation engaged in development and building of airport infrastructure & managing airports across the country. AAI came into existence in 1995 with the merger of the then two authorities (National Airports Authority and International Airports Authority of India).

AAI has the responsibility of creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure both on the ground and air space in the country. The main functions of AAI include construction, modification & management of passenger terminals, development & management of cargo terminals, development & maintenance of apron infrastructure including runways, parallel taxiways, apron etc., Provision of Communication, Navigation and Surveillance which includes provision of DVOR / DME, ILS, ATC radars, visual aids etc., provision of air traffic services, provision of passenger facilities and related amenities at its terminals thereby ensuring safe and secure operations of aircraft, passenger and cargo in the country.

Induction of latest state-of-the-art equipment, both as replacement of old equipments and also as new facilities to improve standards of safety of airports in the air is a continuous process. Adoptions of new and improved procedure go hand in hand with induction of new equipment. Some of the major initiatives in this direction are introduction of Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM) in the India air space to increase airspace capacity and reduce congestion in the air; implementation of GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) jointly with ISRO which when put to operation would be one of the four such systems in the world.