The Hindu Business Line : 7-month ban on new flights to Delhi, Mumbai airports

New Delhi March 19 There will be no new flights to and from Delhi and Mumbai over the coming seven months. The Government has decided to freeze at the existing levels the number of flights that can be operated by domestic airlines from these two airports during the forthcoming summer season.

Contemplated in the wake of increasing congestion at these two airports, the ban would apply to any new flight that an airline wants to operate during the peak hours.

The Government, however, is yet to decide on what constitutes peak hours for both the airports that are the busiest in the country. There are sections in the Government that feel the peak hours extend from 7 to 10 a.m. and from 6 to 10 p.m.

The decision to freeze the number of flights at the existing levels was taken at a meeting the Secretary, Civil Aviation, Mr Ashok Chawla, had with senior airline officials. Top officials of Air Sahara, SpiceJet and Jet Airways were present at the meeting.

Traditionally, the Government approves airline schedules twice annually, in March for summer and in October for the winter schedules. This is done primarily as the Government controls the slots at the airports and also to ensure that passengers are not inconvenienced due to delays at the airports.

Justifying the decision, senior Government officials said that Delhi and Mumbai airports cannot handle more than 30 flights an hour. "Till proper infrastructure is created some steps will have to be taken to ensure that congestion at these airports is kept to a bare minimum," officials indicated.

Another measure under consideration to mitigate the congestion problem is to allow Delhi airport to increase to four hours in the morning the time during which simultaneous use of both runways would be permitted. "The private sector airport operator in Delhi, Delhi International Airport Ltd, is also planning to allow use of simultaneous runway during the evening hours shortly. This too will go a long way in improving the problems faced by the operators," a senior Government official said.

At Mumbai, the airport operator plans to allow the use of the cross runway soon, that should also help in easing the problems airlines face while flying from and to the city.

According to airline officials, at Delhi and Mumbai airports, there were about 3,200 aircraft `movements' in a week during the summer schedule of 2005, up from 2,400-2,500 in the preceding schedule. A typical aircraft `movement' is described as either a take-off or a landing. "The number has obviously gone up now," the officials said.

The congestion problem is also heightened by the shortage of enough trained Air Traffic Controllers in the country and there have been suggestions to recruit and train more people for this job.

At the meeting, the Government also asked the airlines to show greater transparency for the charges levied. "The airlines were requested to put on their Web site details of the services available as also the charges for these. The passengers should also be made aware of what portion of the ticket is refundable and which are not in case they seek a refund," officials said.