35% flights take off late from IGI

35% flights take off late from IGI


Almost 35% of all domestic flights scheduled to take off from IGI Airport during the peak time of 6am to 8am are delayed, according to
a recent on-time performance (OTP) study conducted from April 20-30 by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

A plane is considered to be delayed if it doesn't take off within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time.

The maximum delays were found to take place between 7.15am and 8am as this is the time when the shift changes at the airport. The night shift moves out and people working in the morning shift take some time to settle down.

However, the ongoing study has also found that one basic reason for delay is that aircraft now land at the new runway 29, and then take nearly 25 minutes to reach the domestic terminal.

However, airlines have not factored in this long taxi time. Add the time ^ up to 45 minutes ^ needed to prepare the plane for the next journey, and the plane simply cannot take off on schedule. And once an aircraft gets delayed at any one sector, consequential delays will happen all day long on all the other sectors it was supposed to fly on.

As part of the aviation ministry's endeavour to improve on-time performance, the DGCA is in a dialogue with airlines to have realistic schedules that factor in this problem ^ which will continue for at least another year till the new integrated terminal (T3), situated between runways 28 and 29, gets ready. This will solve the problem of long taxi time for most airlines. Only domestic low cost carriers may have to go to the faraway interim terminal after landing on runway 29.

The report also found that shortage of CISF staff at entry gates was leading to long lines at the entrance of the terminals, especially after the new domestic terminal 1D became operational. Due to manpower constraints, the process of checking valid entry permits for passengers and authorised staff has slowed down considerably, leading to a slower check-in process.