ABSTRACT
India has been one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world, with traffic more than doubling between 1994 and 2006, and forecast to grow by at least ten percent annually through 2011. Aircraft movements have increased more than 60 percent between 2000 and 2006. This growth has been fueled in part by significant airline liberalization and the entry of a number of low-fare carriers operating across all major cities. This growth has placed strains on the air traffic control system, from facilities to equipment to the need for more specialists and trained controllers. This growth in the context of long-neglected infrastructure and oversight has contributed to the below-average safety performance in Indian aviation, ranging from higher accident rates and fatalities to rising rates of near-misses, runway incursions, and delay problems from congested airspace and airside operations.1
