From Thursday onwards, Indian airspace can accommodate many more aircraft than it used to so far.

This has become possible with the introduction of the Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM), which has decreased the vertical distance between two aircraft to 1,000 feet (from the earlier 2,000ft) for aircraft flying at a height of over 29,000 feet, Civil Aviation Ministry sources said.

The decision comes in the wake of a worldwide recommendation by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which had also fixed November 27 for implementation of the RVSM.

This change will also make several additional levels of airspace available to aircraft.

When reminded about the Charkhi-Dadri mid-air collision, the sources said pilots and air traffic controllers had been trained to deal with the changes. Sophisticated air traffic monitoring equipment are already in place at all major airports to keep track of the larger number of aircraft.