An officer and a conductor

BANGALORE: Like most nights, 3-year-old Hrithika waited on Thursday night for her father, Wing Commander Rajeev Kumar Jha, to come back home. Like every night, this Indian Air Force officer of 19 years too looked forward to it. Playing with his little one was the best stress-buster for the Senior Air Traffic Controller at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka.He'd just finished another day at the office, and now he could rest with the quiet satisfaction that all the aircraft on his monitor during Aero Show 2011 had landed safely, or taken off safely to their destinations.
The view from his perch, which overlooks the runway, is stunning but he'd rather focus on the work at hand. It's a high-pressure job, but Wg Cdr Jha enjoys his job so much that he'd rather be doing this than anything else. "I did a stint with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in the Republic of Congo in 2006, but when that ended, I requested to be posted back where I belong, back in air traffic control," he said on Thursday evening, with a relaxed confidence in the crisp voice he uses to convey sectors, altitude and distance to pilots hovering or screaming across the blue February sky.
His job is complicated during the show, because there are many pilots around for whom English is not the first language. Of course, it helps as their conversations are restricted to the universal language of numbers he reads off a large monitor displaying aircraft information pulled in from the revolving radar atop the ATC. "It's a challenge to communicate clearly and be understood. It's very critical that ATC instructions are followed precisely," he said. If that doesn't happen, there'll be chaos in the air and on the ground. That's something Jha and his team of two men don't want. "There are seven air traffic controllers in all at Yelahanka, and three are on duty at any given point of time. While I handle the approach of aircraft, my colleagues manage surface movement and the aerodrome," he said.
The show is also challenging because of the constant interaction needed with Bengaluru International Airport and HAL Airport, to ensure smooth coordination of parking of some aircraft there and getting them to this venue.
On a good day, his work begins at 5am and ends at 10pm. On a bad one, it could be much later if there's bad weather or unforeseen complications. He's used to juggling many tasks and he said, "When a pilot says, `Thank you', it gives me great satisfaction." Not to forget little Hrithika and her older brother Hritvik, who make sure their dad is all set the next day to shepherd pilots safely on their flight plan.