Sunday, October 22, 2017

Mumbai International Airport data: July to Sept sees 35-40% delayed flights

Airlines operating from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai, showed maximum delays in flight services in the last three months this year, according to official data received from the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), which operates the airport. Records from the On Time Performance (OTP) of the airlines said 35-40 per cent of the total flights flying to and arriving at the airport remained delayed on an average from July to September.
The official records revealed that while June showed at least 70 per cent of the flights to be on time, the punctuality of arriving flights dropped to only 60 per cent in July. Inclement weather, followed by traffic congestion at the Mumbai airport are cited to be the reasons.
Mumbai airport was witness to inclement weather in the past two months. Heavy rains on August 29 saw cancellation of at least 10 flights and diversion of many others. The main runway had to be shut for more than 20 hours on September 22 and 23 after a SpiceJet aircraft skidded off the runway and was removed after a 24-hour operation.
According to official OTP records, August saw as many as 3,478 of the total 9,867 flights departing late, and 3,384 of a total of 9,840 flights arriving late. In September, 2,983 of the 9,419 arrivals, and 2,985 of the 9,840 departures were delayed.
“The secondary runway that was in use when the SpiceJet flight had skidded off the main runway has its own limitations as far as matching the operation of flights out of the airport is concerned. We also faced visibility issues on the same day. The congestion further led to bunching of flights,” said a senior ATC official.
However, reasons attributed by the OTP report puts air traffic flow management (ATFM) and reactionary reasons as major reasons for the delay of flights in the last two months. Reactionary reasons include delay in passenger loading, check-in errors, operation control errors, delay in setting the cabin crew on the flights or other miscellaneous reasons. “IndiGo has continued to top the charts in punctuality throughout the past three months. In spite of inclement weather conditions and other factors contributing to delay at the airport, our flights continue to be the most punctual. We work towards achieving the goal,” said an official spokesperson from IndiGo. The airline recorded 78 per cent and 85 per cent of OTP in arrivals and departures, respectively, in September.
22/10/17 Neha Kulkarni/Indian Express
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