Airlines pay dearly for delays

Domestic Indian carriers could be losing as much as Rs 240 crore annually as a result of the delay their aircraft undergo during landing and take-off because of congestion in Delhi and Mumbai airports.

On an average, aircraft need to wait for about half-an-hour before landing at the two airports. According to estimates made by the airline industry, there are about 189 aircraft movements every day in Delhi and Mumbai. A delay of half-an-hour cosumes about one kilolitre of fuel worth Rs 30,000.

"On-air delay and delay in airports not only lead to an increase in fuel costs but also a delay in business. Faster turn-around time at airports help us reduce cost," said an executive with a private Indian carrier.

The delays are mainly due to infrastructure constrains in the airports. For example, in the case of Delhi, which has only one usable runway, there are only about 25 aircraft movements per hour.

This can go up to at least 50 per hour if a new runway is built. Besides, it can also go up by about 25 to 30 per cent in case of fast taxi ways.

But, both Delhi and Mumbai airports, the two busiest airports in the country, have not received any significant investments in the last few years as a result of the proposed privatisation process, leading to massive constraint in airport infrastructure.

"Delhi and Mumbai airports have very serious infrastructure constraint. The government should look at another runway immediately and there should also be provisions for faster taxi ways too," said G R Gopinath, managing director, Deccan Aviation.

Pointing out that it is difficult to put an exact number for the losses suffered as a result of infrastructure constrains, Gopinath said, "Faster turn around times at airports will help up achieve better profitability. Besides, delay of every minute is adding to the cost of owning too."

Sky high losses

• A delay of half-an-hour conusmes about Rs 30,000 worth of fuel
• Delays are mainly due to infrastructure constraint at the airports
• Both Delhi and Mumbai airports need another runawaybe increased