Bio

V. SOMASUNDARAM, the Board Member – Air Navigation Services in Airports Authority of India, is spearheading AAIs initiatives in modernizing CNS/ATM infrastructure in line with ICAO plans for enhancing Safety, Efficiency and capacity of Airports and Airspace. Airports Authority of India has made rapid strides in the field of CNS/ATM under the stewardship of Mr. Somasundaram particularly with respect to Development and Implementation of Satellite Based Navigation, Total Surveillance Coverage, Data Link communication, GBAS, PBN implementation ,ADS-B implementation to name a few. Mr. Somasundaram’s Initiative and unparalleled vision came to the fore, when India showcased its capability and was given the recognition of En route Monitoring Agency for the Region by ICAO. The R & D centre, set up at Hyderabad for developing indigenous R&D capability, is a Dream-come-True project for AAI, thanks to Member (ANS)’s foresight combined with passion for harnessing the in-house talent. His achievement reached pinnacle of glory when India won the prestigious Jane’s ATC Award 2012 among many international contenders for achieving the best operational efficiency for its unique Upper Air space Harmonisation program in Chennai FIR. The able and dynamic leadership of Mr. V. Somasundaram came to the fore again when Airports Authority of India as Air Navigation Service Provider(ANSP) bagged two prestigious ATC Global Awards 2013 at Amsterdam, one for Excellence in ANSP Management and another for Strategic Advancement in Air Transport through AAI’s collaborative environment project .