Significant Improvement in on time Performance of Airlines
Following the strict enforcement of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)’s procedure to be followed by airlines to mitigate flight delays, there has been significant improvement in the On Time Performances (OTP) of airlines. In Delhi, the OTP has risen from 15-20% to 50-60%, in Mumbai from 40-50% to 70-75% and in other airports, the OTP these days is between 90 to 92%.
However flights which get delayed are not allowed to hold the sequence of flights waiting to take off. As per the DGCA rules, they have to join at the end of the queue of flights waiting to take off. The ensuing delay to the flight is thus not due to the ATC procedures but because of initial delays by the airline itself.
As per the DGCA rules dated 21 October 2009:
· All departure slots are distributed evenly within an hour with not more than five departure slots in 10 minutes and a total of 30 per hour.
· Airlines are required to file the flight plan with scheduled time of departure as per approved schedule.
· The aircraft has to contact the Air Traffic Control (ATC) for clearance not more than 45 minutes prior to the scheduled time of departure and not later than 15 minutes prior to scheduled time of departure.
· The aircraft shall ‘push back’ and ‘start up’ to proceed towards the runway at least 15 minutes prior to scheduled time of departure.
· The approval for ‘push back’ and ‘start up’ shall be valid for 5 minutes only.
· Aircrafts which cannot adhered to ‘push back’ clearance will go back in the sequence or aircraft readying to take off.
· Subsequent clearance will be given based on available slot.
· Sequence of departures shall be decided by ATC based on the position and readiness of aircraft approaching the entry point of runway.
· All pre-departure checks and cabin procedures should be completed before entering the runway and the aircraft should start moving as soon as the take-off clearance is issued by ATC.
· In case of weather related or emergency related delays, Watch Supervisory Officer (WSO) shall be responsible for allocation of alteration slots.
· Airlines not adhering to the approved time slots shall lose the historicity in the next schedule.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA have been monitoring the performances of the airlines on day-to-day basis. Show Cause Notices have been issued to a number of airlines on delays. The Ministry has also alerted that airlines which miss slots frequently will not get their desired slots in the Winter schedule.
Airlines flying other parts of the country to Delhi and Mumbai during peak hours will also have to strictly adhere to their timings. This is because in an attempt, to decongest the arrival congestion in Mumbai and Delhi Airports, delayed flights will not be allowed to take-off from the originating station so as to arrive in peak hours in Mumbai and Delhi. Arrival congestion peaks in Delhi and Mumbai are between 8 and 10 p.m in Mumbai and Delhi.
The total number of flights handled at Mumbai and Delhi airports at any given day are approximately 690 and 710 respectively.
Each scheduled flight is allocated a Fixed Departure and Landing Time in Winter and Summer Schedules. Slots are staggered as per guidelines prescribed by International Air Transport Association (IATA) in consultation with stakeholders, including airport operators. The landing clearance is issued by Air Traffic Controllers to the each arriving aircraft as per their sequence for landing at concerned airport. When due to any reason, the flights cannot adhere to the Fixed Landing Time allocated to them, then, bunching of flights take place. In such cases, the aircraft may have to hover in airspace waiting for their turn to land as per their sequence.
However, the cause for congestion at Delhi and Mumbai airports are as follows:
· Due to commercial and technical reasons the flights may not adhere to the Fixed Landing Time allocated to them, then bunching of flights takes place.
· Sometimes bad weather may also cause congestion and delays to flights.
Following the strict enforcement of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)’s procedure to be followed by airlines to mitigate flight delays, there has been significant improvement in the On Time Performances (OTP) of airlines. In Delhi, the OTP has risen from 15-20% to 50-60%, in Mumbai from 40-50% to 70-75% and in other airports, the OTP these days is between 90 to 92%.
However flights which get delayed are not allowed to hold the sequence of flights waiting to take off. As per the DGCA rules, they have to join at the end of the queue of flights waiting to take off. The ensuing delay to the flight is thus not due to the ATC procedures but because of initial delays by the airline itself.
As per the DGCA rules dated 21 October 2009:
· All departure slots are distributed evenly within an hour with not more than five departure slots in 10 minutes and a total of 30 per hour.
· Airlines are required to file the flight plan with scheduled time of departure as per approved schedule.
· The aircraft has to contact the Air Traffic Control (ATC) for clearance not more than 45 minutes prior to the scheduled time of departure and not later than 15 minutes prior to scheduled time of departure.
· The aircraft shall ‘push back’ and ‘start up’ to proceed towards the runway at least 15 minutes prior to scheduled time of departure.
· The approval for ‘push back’ and ‘start up’ shall be valid for 5 minutes only.
· Aircrafts which cannot adhered to ‘push back’ clearance will go back in the sequence or aircraft readying to take off.
· Subsequent clearance will be given based on available slot.
· Sequence of departures shall be decided by ATC based on the position and readiness of aircraft approaching the entry point of runway.
· All pre-departure checks and cabin procedures should be completed before entering the runway and the aircraft should start moving as soon as the take-off clearance is issued by ATC.
· In case of weather related or emergency related delays, Watch Supervisory Officer (WSO) shall be responsible for allocation of alteration slots.
· Airlines not adhering to the approved time slots shall lose the historicity in the next schedule.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA have been monitoring the performances of the airlines on day-to-day basis. Show Cause Notices have been issued to a number of airlines on delays. The Ministry has also alerted that airlines which miss slots frequently will not get their desired slots in the Winter schedule.
Airlines flying other parts of the country to Delhi and Mumbai during peak hours will also have to strictly adhere to their timings. This is because in an attempt, to decongest the arrival congestion in Mumbai and Delhi Airports, delayed flights will not be allowed to take-off from the originating station so as to arrive in peak hours in Mumbai and Delhi. Arrival congestion peaks in Delhi and Mumbai are between 8 and 10 p.m in Mumbai and Delhi.
The total number of flights handled at Mumbai and Delhi airports at any given day are approximately 690 and 710 respectively.
Each scheduled flight is allocated a Fixed Departure and Landing Time in Winter and Summer Schedules. Slots are staggered as per guidelines prescribed by International Air Transport Association (IATA) in consultation with stakeholders, including airport operators. The landing clearance is issued by Air Traffic Controllers to the each arriving aircraft as per their sequence for landing at concerned airport. When due to any reason, the flights cannot adhere to the Fixed Landing Time allocated to them, then, bunching of flights take place. In such cases, the aircraft may have to hover in airspace waiting for their turn to land as per their sequence.
However, the cause for congestion at Delhi and Mumbai airports are as follows:
· Due to commercial and technical reasons the flights may not adhere to the Fixed Landing Time allocated to them, then bunching of flights takes place.
· Sometimes bad weather may also cause congestion and delays to flights.
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