Your flight may never be late. Happy flying!

Chennai: So, no more pleading and cajoling at the check-in counter next time you reach late to catch your flight. Even if it’s only by a minute. For, there won’t be anybody to even listen to you. The new DGCA regulations mandate prompt closure of the counters 45 minutes ahead of take-off.
In fact, the order is already in force for a month now, though Chennai airport is to enforce it strictly only from September 1. And, pilots in Mumbai and Delhi were recently heard haggling with ATC officials through their radio, demanding a landing slot, arguing that they were being held accountable.
All airlines have woken up to the fact that the DGCA is no longer willing to bend the rules with regard to the new procedures. An official recalls how a woman who reported five minutes late was denied boarding despite repeated pleas.
A July 20 trial run of the new routine in the city saw 85 passengers being disallowed to board a Jet Airways carrier. “A flight has to make it on time to its destination, so that it can depart from there on time,” an airport sources noted. “For flights that are on a quick turnaround, airlines won’t take chances at all. They will miss their slots in all destinations.”
19/08/10 Mamta Todi/ExpressBuzz

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Categories: airports aug 2010