Rush at airports: Govt grounds new flights

Congestion at airports has led to the government turning down requests from airlines to launch new flights to Bangalore and Pune airports.

Similarly, peak hour congestion at Mumbai airports has resulted in the Airports Authority of India (AAI) refusing permission to new flights between 6-10 am and 4-7 pm.

Airlines seeking landing slots at these airports have been advised by the civil aviation ministry to look at alternative airports.

According to ministry sources, a start-up carrier which wanted permission to operate a 6 am flight between Mumbai and Delhi had been denied permission. It has been asked to schedule the landing at 5 am.

In case of the Pune airport, which handled about 1,268 landings and take-offs last month, the problem is the presence of a Sukhoi squadron.

"This leaves very little time for airlines to operate at Pune," said Siddhanth Sharma, chief executive, SpiceJet.

At the Bangalore airport, where 7,077 flights land and take off in a month, the situation is worse. The airport authorities have reduced the parking time for airlines.

In addition, airlines have been asked to develop multiple airport hubs to avoid rush at a few airports. For example, a large number of airlines want to base aircraft at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.

"There are issues in getting landing and parking slots at certain airports. We are looking at ways to work around it by looking at alternative airports from where we can start new services," said a senior Air Sahara executive.

According to airline industry sources, a similar situation is arising in Delhi as well. "There are about 10 applicants for three landing slots in Delhi. We are yet to decide who will get these slots," said an AAI official.