Mumbai: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is looking at getting the ATR 72 aircraft out of the highly congested Mumbai airport as it is affecting punctuality of airlines.
Of the 900-odd flights that Mumbai receives everyday, 12 are ATR aircraft, which unlike an Airbus or Boeing aircraft that carry 100-plus passengers, carry only about 70. AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra is keen on taking measures that ensure airlines are punctual in Mumbai.
On Wednesday, ATR achieved an important milestone with the delivery of its 1,000th ATR 72 to IndiGo. However, if AAI is able to work out a solution, then ATRs and other such small commercial aircraft will have to give Mumbai a miss, atleast till the Navi Mumbai airport is commissioned.
“We are taking steps to reduce congestion at Mumbai airport with measures such as replacing flights operated by smaller aircraft such as ATR 72 with bigger planes like Airbus 320s where two stations (the point of departure/arrival) are capable of handling the bigger aircraft,” Mr. Mohapatra said. He said the ATRs carry fewer passengers but take longer to taxi and pushback.
ATR planes had been sold in India since 1999, but it was Air Deccan’s turboprops that connected the remotest corners of the country. While ATRs and Bombardier aircraft have been used by Jet Airways, SpiceJet and earlier by Kingfisher Airlines, it was in 2015 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to improve connectivity to small towns. The ministry has framed an aviation policy that incentivises airlines that ply these routes.
A Mumbai airport official said the airport was trying its best. “We have only one runway and cannot do anything about land constraints. We have worked to increase ramp capacity as also constructed rapid exit taxiways for aircraft to exit quickly. The runway capacity has been enhanced from 30 per hour in 2007 to 48. We are trying very hard to increase capacity even further,” an airport official said.
According to airport officials, Udey Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN), a regional connectivity programme, had reduced the efficiency of the city airport as it was using up flight slots. In order to decongest the airport, MIAL aims to shift all the non-scheduled and charter flight operations to Navi Mumbai after it becomes operational. “UDAN has reduced the capacity of the airport, as smaller aircraft occupy more runway vacating time. We have no slots left for smaller aircraft. All the available slots have been allotted. A small aircraft typically used under UDAN takes one-and-a-half minutes more to vacate the runway, as compared to a regular narrow-body aircraft,” an official said.
