The civil aviation ministry announced on Wednesday that the air traffic situation at Mumbai airport has shown improvement, with reduced delays in flight arrivals. This development comes nearly two months after directives were issued, including a reduction in flights, aimed at addressing congestion at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), one of the country's busiest airports.
Providing a comparative analysis of air traffic trends based on flight arrivals, the ministry highlighted the periods of November 11-December 10, 2023, and February 16-24, 2024. According to the ministry, its initiatives have begun to yield positive results, and the situation is being closely monitored to ensure continued progress.
During the period of February 16-24, the civil aviation ministry reported a total of 4,337 arrivals at the airport. Among these arrivals, there were no delays exceeding one hour, while 178 planes experienced delays of 30-60 minutes. Additionally, 570 aircraft arrived ahead of schedule, 2,469 planes were delayed by 0-15 minutes, and 1,120 aircraft were delayed by 15-30 minutes, according to the data provided.
In contrast, during the period of November 11-December 10, 2023, there were a total of 14,476 arrivals at the airport. The data indicated that 1,641 aircraft experienced delays of more than an hour, 2,141 planes were delayed by 30-60 minutes, 2,083 aircraft were delayed by 15-30 minutes, and 3,632 planes experienced delays of 0-15 minutes.
A total of 4,979 aircraft arrived before schedule. Aircraft operating earlier than the approved slot (marked as before schedule in the data) lead to congestion and delay for other aircraft adhering to the schedule, which in turn will have a cascading effect on the other schedule movements. These movements were also targeted for improvements and airlines asked to adhere to the allotted slots," the statement said. The airport has two intersecting runways which cannot be operated simultaneously. So, there is only single runway operations with a peak hour declared capacity of 46 aircraft movement arrival and departure per hour during High Intensity Runway Operations (HIRO).
The ministry directed Mumbai airport operator MIAL and Airports Authority of India (AAI) on January 2 to restrict non-scheduled flight operations during specific time periods to alleviate congestion. Subsequently, on February 15, the ministry instructed a reduction in aircraft movements from 46 to 44 per hour during the HIRO period, and from 44 to 42 per hour during non-HIRO periods. MIAL, in coordination with airlines, implemented these directives effective from February 20.