Kolkata airport ATC fire exposes lack of backup control facility

In the early hours of Tuesday, a suspected short circuit sparked a fire on the second-floor terrace of the Air Traffic Management complex at Kolkata airport. Controllers remained at their posts in the third-floor area control centre and the eighth-floor tower, continuing to manage flights, as evacuating would have left aircraft without guidance. The fire was extinguished within a couple of hours, and no major damage was reported. The incident has raised concerns about the risks controllers face given the lack of an alternative facility from which they can direct aircraft. Controllers in Kolkata manage 1,000–1,400 overflying aircraft daily across the Kolkata Flight Information Region, in addition to around 350 daily arrivals and departures. A new air traffic control tower is ready, but replacement systems have not yet been purchased.