Reducing hovering, saving fuel

New Delhi: Congestion over Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad is set to come down drastically with the minimum separation between flights being reduced from August 1. In the wake of spiralling fuel prices, this decision would bring relief not just for passengers who often have to spend close to an hour hovering over the destination but also for airlines who otherwise burn precious fuel in the process.
Announcing this on Wednesday, secretary ministry of civil aviation (MoCA), Ashok Chawla, revealed in 2007-08, all airlines together had reported a loss to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore and it could reach the double figure this fiscal, depending upon movement of oil prices. The performance based navigational system (PBNS) then will not only decrease hovering time by allowing more flight movement per hour but also reduce risks of incidents in air.
Delhi and Mumbai have an hourly movement of about 35 and 40 flights respectively. With the new system in place, this could easily go up by about 10 to 20%. Delhi will benefit even more once its third runway becomes operational sometime this August.
Leading airlines, however, expressed apprehension over the implementation date of the system since none of them allegedly have pilots trained for it. Pilots operating this system will need certification by the directorate general of civil aviation.
05/06/08 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Jun 2008