Changing VT call sign would mean grounding aircraft till they are re-painted, will have big financial implication for airlines: Government

The government, in its reply, did not say what VT stands for. [Representative image]

Changing the VT call sign on Indian aircrafts would mean grounding the aircraft till they are not repainted, re-issuing all the documents and this will have big financial implications on the airlines, the government has said.

There has been a demand from many quarters in the BJP that India must change its call sign from VT as they claim it stands for ‘Victorian or Viceroy Territory’ and was assigned to India in 1927 when India was under British rule. BJP leaders like Tarun Vijay have long campaigned for changing this call sign saying it is a legacy of the ‘British Raj’ and is a symbol of slavery. The VT call sign is painted as markings on the body of all Indian aircrafts.

In a response to a question from BJP MP Harish Dwivedi in Parliament, the Ministry of Civil Aviation indicated on July 29 that it was easier said than done.

“If we change the VT call sign then all documents have to be reissued, the aircraft will have to be repainted and cannot fly till all the markings are changed. Aircraft will remain grounded during the whole process. It will also have a big financial implication on the airlines,” the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Gen V.K. Singh (Retd) has contended.

The government, in its reply, did not say what VT stands for even though the BJP MP did ask the same in his query.

“International Telecommunication Union had allotted three series of call signs to India i.e. ATA-AWZ, VTA-VWZ and 8TA-8YZ. Call signs could be the 1st one or two letters of the series. As per the provisions of the Annex 7 of the Chicago convention, our country had the options to choose its call sign for above three series for Indian registered aircraft. The call sign VT was assigned to India during International Radiotelegraph convention of Washington, 1927,” Singh said.