The Hindu Business Line : Airlines happy on simultaneous use of runways at Delhi, Mumbai airports

Plain notes
This would increase aircraft movement from 25 per hour to 40 in Delhi
Fuel bills would be saved
To save departure/arrival delays

New Delhi , May 8

The decision to allow simultaneous use of runways at Delhi and Mumbai airports has no doubt helped ease aircraft congestion and the consequent delays, but it also has some airlines asking for more.

While the Chairman, Airports Authority of India, Mr K. Ramalingam, points out that the feedback from airlines has been very positive, Kingfisher officials maintain that they would benefit more if the parallel runway operations in Delhi were allowed between 6-11 a.m. and 5-10 p.m.

At the moment, parallel runway operations in Delhi are allowed between 9.30 am and 11.30 am and between 3 pm and 5 pm. In Mumbai, simultaneous use of the runway in allowed throughout the day.

In Delhi, the move has seen aircraft movement increase from 25 per hour to about 40 per hour. Moves are also afoot to allow around clock simultaneous use of the runway in Delhi.

Welcoming the decision, the Chief Executive Officer of the low cost airline, SpiceJet, Mr Siddhanta Sharma, said it should help the airline save about Rs 50,000 per flight in fuel bills alone. "It is difficult to quantify the exact amount of monies that airlines will save. Several factors will have to be considered including the fact that the wear and tear of engines will come down as will the additional time the crew spends in the air. All this should help any airline," added Mr Sharma. Besides, the airline is hoping that the changes being done at the two metro airports would help cut down daily network delays from the current 2-3 hours to about 30-45 minutes. Commenting on the move, the Executive Director, Jet Airways, Mr Saroj Datta, said in Mumbai departure delays had reduced by 5-7 minutes.

Similarly in Delhi, the sequential operations of runway 27 and 28 have led to a definite reduction in delays in the arrival and departure of flights. "However in Mumbai, since all domestic operators use runway 14 for departure and also most of them are backtracking on the runway there is delay in start up and push back as the taxiways are occupied by other departing aircraft," said Mr Datta.

Kingfisher officials point out the need for a parallel runway in Mumbai. "For the last four years once a week both runways close down for 30 minutes causing pandemonium. On two days a week for two hours the main runway closes down. We are losing out flying hours and revenue in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore," Kingfisher officials said.

Mr Datta, however, maintains that this move has meant better aircraft utilisation and the reduced delays have improved Jet Airways on-time performance.

Industry analysts while admitting that the amount of time spent circling over Delhi and Mumbai had been considerably reduced, also sought urgent steps to ensure that a passenger is able to deplane more quickly.