 "Mumbai airport")
IndiGo has questioned the on-time performance of airlines at the Mumbai airport, claiming the process of computation was prone to fudging.
On-time performance, or OTP, is used by airlines to track punctuality of their flights. The data is used for branding.
In a letter to the aviation sector regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), IndiGo has said there was inconsistency between OTP data filed by other airlines at the Mumbai airport and the Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM). Business Standard has reviewed a copy of the letter. A-CDM is a joint venture between the International Air Transport Association and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation.
“As you are aware, OTP is a very important indicator of performance of any airline including IndiGo,” Sanjeev Ramdas, executive vice-president, customer services and operational control, IndiGo, wrote to DGCA.
He added, “Any inconsistency in that data is a matter of grave concern as that gives rise to doubt as to the accuracy of data that is made available to the public.”
His letter also said, “Any inaccurate data in the public domain is bound to affect the general perception and goodwill of any airline, including IndiGo, which will hamper the level playing field in the aviation industry.”
According to data submitted by the airline for four days of December, the difference in OTP ranges from five to 13 points. For instance, according to data from Mumbai Airport, on 22 December, it recorded Air India to have an OTP of 59%, while A-CDM data shows it was able to fly only 46% of its flights on time.
Similarly, on 26 December, another private carrier, SpiceJet, had an OTP of 60% according to data from Mumbai airport, while A-CDM data shows it to be 48% for the airline.
A senior IndiGo executive said Mumbai Airport was one of the busiest in the country and such discrepancy in data could significantly alter the overall picture. “We have just found the discrepancy for the Mumbai airport, and it cannot be denied that such inconsistency and inaccuracy of data may be prevailing for other airport which we do not have any idea,” the executive said.
According to IndiGo, data is collected by operators from computers on the aerobridge. “When data is collated on Excel sheets, some of it is compromised. Airlines that report manually, over phone to ATC, can compromise two to five minutes,” said IndiGo.
A Mumbai airport spokesperson said, “The OTP is calculated by the airport on the basis of actual push-back time of aircraft. The push-back time of all aircraft is manually captured irrespective of whether the aircraft is parked on a remote bay or at aerobridge. The difference in ACDM-data and Mumbai airport OTP data is found only in a small fraction of flights. The ACDM system is in operation only for 12 hours whereas data is captured by the Mumbai airport round the clock. We will look into issue raised by IndiGo.”
Sources at the Mumbai airport said when aircraft is parked at aerobridge, arrival and push-back time is fed to the airport's operational database directly. However, for planes which get remote bays, the arrival and push-back time is computed with a mix of both automated data and manual intervention.
“A radar system captures the touchdown time and staff manually record the time when the aircraft reached the bay. This is recorded by the airport staff calculating approximate time taken to taxi to the bay. This practice is used by airport staff for recording data for all airlines,” a source at Mumbai airport said.
This data is shared by the airport with airlines on a daily basis to ascertain reasons for delays. Airlines submit their own arrival and push back data often pointing out to discrepancy in way data is being recorded at the airport, the source added Mumbai airport — operated by the GVK group — is reeling from serious congestion, affecting the performance of airlines. IndiGo’s OTP, too, has come under pressure because of fog in north India adversely affecting the performance of its large Delhi-based fleet.
Last month, more than a quarter of IndiGo’s flights failed to depart or arrive on schedule. Its OTP at four metro airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru — was a poor 72.4%.
