Questions and concerns about traveling in India
Hey, everyone. So, I was wondering if I could get some, well…consultation on some anxiety I’ve been having about traveling to India. To give you a bit of background, I’m a 30-year-old man of Indian descent, but I was born and raised in Northern California. Recently, I’ve been trying to travel to India more often, and I try to go there about once a year to see my relatives for 1-2 weeks. I always fly into and out of Delhi (DEL), but I may also take a round trip between DEL and Lucknow (LKO) while I’m there.
Recently, my anxiety about flying to India has kind of flared up. Specifically, what’s got me kind of scared is hearing all these reports about how crappy the ATC in Indian airports is and how unprofessional the pilots on some of these Indian airlines are. I’ve read a bunch of reports about near-misses in Indian airports (such as TCAS situations and runway incursions), how bad the pilots on these Indian airlines can be (like the Jet Airways pilot who slapped his co-pilot), how incompetent the air traffic controllers at some of these Indian airports can be, how Indian pilots have been caught drunk on the job, how some pilots were being put in the captain’s seat with 35 minutes of experience, how many pilots there have been caught with fake licenses, how so many aircraft in local Indian airlines are essentially falling apart, how Air India was apparently putting newspapers on their cockpit windows, and so on. Specifically, I’ve been reading these things on AvHerald, PPRUNE, in the Indian media, and on Reddit. The general consensus seems to be that Indian airspace is a disaster waiting to happen, so I’m wondering if it’s really a good idea for me to fly there at all. If I go, I’ll most likely take Singapore Airlines, as they seem to have the best service, one of the best safety records, and some of the best pilots in the world. I don’t think anyone would disagree with that, right? Even then, I have some questions and I was wondering if I could get some honest answers:
So basically, I guess I’m just wondering what safeguards are there to protect a plane piloted by a competent pilot (with Singapore, Emirates, Lufthansa, etc.), but working in airspace with pilots and ATC who don’t have the best reputation. In order to avoid a mid-air collision, does everyone involved have to be on top of their game? I’m also wondering how “fault-tolerant” TCAS is. Let’s say TCAS gives its advisories to the various pilots, but for some reason, at least one doesn’t follow it. Or let’s say one of them accidentally does the opposite. How likely is such a scenario, and would TCAS then be able to correct for the mistakes made by those pilots? On a side note, do newer aircraft have “better” TCAS? For example, does an A380 have a better TCAS system than, say, a 15-year-old 737? |
TCAS is pretty good about noticing zig instructions as being interpreted as zag. ;) TCAS became mandatory in Indian airspace after a Saudi aircraft collided with a Kazakh aircraft near DEL in 1996: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charkh...-air_collision
Indian ATC has improved tremendously and is keeping pace with the rapid growth in Indian aviation. Besides local traffic, hundreds of widebodies travelling the East-West corridor to S.E. Asia and southern China cross Indian airspace each day without issue. Remember the airspace over Tibet on the northern side of the Himalayas is off limits to commercial aircraft for a number of reasons (mainly no chance to do a drift down), so to get from Europe to southern China or S. E. Asia there is no way around India. Just take a look at the traffic above DEL right now: https://www.flightradar24.com/airport/del/map Bottom line is that Indian air travel is about as safe as any other major market. Western airspace is probably populated with an equal number of weirdos, but the yellow press is not very interested in that here. The fact that pilots flying the many regional jets in the US earn less than a truck driver doesn't make the news. Read the Colgan Air crash report for more on that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colgan_Air_Flight_3407 |
wow....this has to be one of the most paranoid posts i've ever read on ft....
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Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 29268822)
wow....this has to be one of the most paranoid posts i've ever read on ft....
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Would Singapore Airlines with "some of the best pilots in the world" be flying in and out of India if your supposed concerns were at all real? However, I did read in the National Inquirer that.....
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Originally Posted by sully242
(Post 29270776)
However, I did read in the National Inquirer that.....
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That really does sound pretty paranoid. I wonder if you'll be able to handle traffic on the roads in India given your concern about the one mid-air..? India is a fascinating place to visit. Don't let a little (ok, maybe more than a little..) paranoia stop you from traveling to such an amazing place.
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I fly in and out of India and within India often. The flights and planes are no different from anywhere else. In fact, some of my flights within India was awesome!
1. Now, most of Indian airports are quite modern and amenities depend on the airport. 2. I have seen unprofessional pilots and flight attendants even in the top 10 airlines. They all have good and bad days. I was overwhelmed by the cheerfulness of the pilots and drew on a very late flight on the New years Eve! They have taken time from their Holidays to transport you. The same was true of the Christmas day flight in India on my flight to BLR to MAA. 3. Indian passengers are mostly professionals, because of the cost of flying and are better behaved than passengers I have seen in many transatlantic flights. If you are that concerned about India trip, please don't go. India does not want you worried during your stay. Perhaps, your parents could tell you the advances India has made. |
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