Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], December 8 (ANI): Air Marshal B Chandra Sekhar, Commandant, Air Force Academy, on Wednesday acknowledged the critical role of Air Traffic Controllers in military aviation at a graduation ceremony held at Air Traffic Control Officers Training Establishment (ATCOTE), Air Force Academy Hyderabad.

To mark the successful completion of 143 Air Traffic Surveillance Services (ATSS) course and 108 Air Traffic Management & Air Laws (basic) course, a graduation ceremony was held at Air Traffic Control Officers Training Establishment (ATCOTE), Air Force Academy Hyderabad on Wednesday.

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Air Marshal B Chandra Sekhar, Commandant, Air Force Academy graced the occasion as the Reviewing Officer (RO).

Air Marshal Sekhar congratulated the graduating officers.

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The Air Marshal acknowledged the critical role of Air Traffic Controllers in military aviation.

He reiterated the importance of Air Traffic Services in supporting the economic growth of the country, without hampering the operations of the Armed Force.

He, therefore, emphasized on the need to facilitate the usage of restricted airspace for expediting traffic, essentially with a large number of IAF airfields being opened to civil aircraft operations.

ATCOTE is a premier training establishment of the Indian Air Force (IAF) equipped with state-of-the-art simulators to undertake training for officers from the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Indian Coast Guard, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and officers from Friendly Foreign Countries in the field of Air Traffic Services (ATS).

The Integrated Radar & 3D Visual Flight Rules Tower Simulator (IRVTS) is one of its kind 'Make-in India' projects available at the institute.

The ATSS Course is a three-month long, mid-level course for training qualified Air Traffic Controllers in the usage of radar. The course equips these controllers to maintain an expeditious and orderly flow of air traffic. A total of 16 officers comprising of 10 officers from the Indian Air Force, 04 from the Indian Navy, one from HAL and one officer from the Sri Lanka Air Force were part of the course.

The Air Traffic Management & Air Laws (basic) course is a six-month long rigorous instructional course aimed at imparting ab-initio training on Surface Movement Control, Aerodrome Control and Approach Control functions to young commissioned officers to become qualified Air Traffic Controllers.

A total of 29 officers comprising of 25 officers from the Indian Air Force and one officer each from the Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Coast Guard and HAL were part of the course. (ANI)

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