Room for improvement

To meet the growing challenge of the overall safety, availability and reliability of critical Air Navigation Services (ANS) infrastructure maintained by Airports Authority of India, the existing guidelines on lightning, surge protection and earthing system for CNS/ATM facilities have been reviewed in line with prevalent international and national standards and has been brought out as CNS Manual.

This CNS Manual covers lightning, surge protection, earthing and bonding systems to be adopted for CNS/ATM facilities with solid state components which are more susceptible to damage due to surges, transients and over voltages being encountered in the system due to lightning, sub-station switching. The recommendations specifically cover the following:

• Protection of sensitive electronic CNS/ATM facilities from lightning, resulting from a lightning strike to the building or its associated services installations.
• Protection of buildings or structures housing CNS facilities against lightning strike.
• Protection of sensitive electronic CNS/ATM facilities from lightning/induction surges and spikes resulting from a lightning strike, power switching.
• Earthing and bonding system to be adopted for CNS/ATM facilities.
• Maintenance procedures/practices to be followed for maintenance of  lightning, surge protection and earthing system.

The guidelines, procedures and practices described in this Manual will go a long way in protecting the vital CNS/ATM installations against damage and operational disruptions occurring due to lightning and Surges and thereby ensuring smooth operation of Air Navigation Facilities.

Airports Authority of India develops the CNS Manual on standards and guidelines of lighting, surge protection and earthing system for CNS installations across all airports in India.