Govt looks at ways to cut waiting time at airports

New Delhi: An inter-ministerial group consisting of finance ministry, commerce ministry and Airports Authority of India officials is looking into ways to drastically cut the time passengers take to board a flight from the time of entering an airport (dwell time in aviation parlance).
Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla heads the group, which first met here on June 20. The officials are also looking into the delays that occur in cargo loading and offloading at airports.
The average dwell time at Indian airports does not measure up to global standards.
“The group will look into the standards set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The group will suggest improvements in three ways: upgradation of infrastructure, equipment skills and manpower. It would also look into reasons of delay at various stages of passage,” an official source said.
One measure that is being considered is getting airports to install escalators at all such places where passengers have to cover more than 300 metres from the entrance.
The existing Policy on Airport Infrastructure has set a short-term objective of clearing incoming international passengers within 45 minutes of arrival and departing passengers within 60 minutes, including the check-in time. Similarly, the target for domestic flights is 30 minutes and 45 minutes, respectively.
22/06/07 Asit Ranjan Mishra/Business Standard

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Categories: Airports Jun 2007, New Jun 2007