Airlines unhappy over new norms on runway use

The new government guideline against simultaneous take-off and landing of aircraft from the same runway (now one runway would be used for take-off and the other only for landing) will increase delays in flight movement by 40-50 per cent, say airlines.

According to authorities, the guideline has been issued after increasing incidents of near collisions, which were reported in the last few months and had led to a lot of panic amongst passengers.

Instead of being parallel, these runways actually converge after a point which makes it dangerous for two flights to take off simultaneously if they go beyond a certain point.

However, airlines say that with these new guidelines the number of flights that the airport can take on would not be more than 30.

At the moment the airport handles 35 flights per hour every day (landings and take-offs).

"Every flight will be delayed by at least 45 minutes to one hour," said an Air Deccan pilot. That is over and above the delay already being faced by passengers due to congestion and fog.

"These are makeshift methods and should be replaced by what is done internationally during simultaneous use of runways. Those flights which take off simultaneously just have to turn 10 degrees on either side and then take off. That way there is no chance of a collision," says the flight operations chief of a low-cost carrier. Air traffic control (ATC) officials agree to this suggestion.

"This new method will definitely lead to certain restrictions in flight operations. But that has to be taken into account since the stress is on safety," said an ATC official.

However, aviation experts say that the guideline is in tune with international standards of safety and while initially there maybe some delays, the problem will subside once the airlines get adjusted and rework their schedules to the new system.