Though air congestion, especially during peak hours, has been resulting in flight delays at the city airport for years, the on-time performance (OTP) has been getting better over the past few months.
The latest data released of flight operations at the Chhatrapti Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) shows that in September 81% of all domestic departing flights were on time, while 83% of all domestic flights arriving were on time.
The OTP for departing and arriving domestic flights for August stood at 80% each. In July, it was 71% for departing domestic flights and 70% for those arriving, while in June, it had been 69% and 70% for departing and arriving flights, respectively.
Airport insiders, air traffic controllers and airline officials have all credited the improving OTP to better coordination among them. "Better OTP plays an important role in the growth of aviation industry," said an airport insider.
The CSIA, which sees over 780 flight movements a month on an average, is counted among the busiest airports in the continent. Around 12,076 general aviation aircraft, 7,410 cargo flights and 798 defence aircraft movement have been reported during 2013-14 there. As per the figures available with the aviation ministry, the airspace over Mumbai gets 'choked' during peak hours, which often results in delays during the morning and evening hours.
The improvement in overall OTP at CSIA is naturally showing improved figures for airlines as well. For example, national carrier Air India, which is among those having the worst OTP, has improved to 72% and 74% for departing and arriving flights, respectively, for September, as against 68% and 66% in August. In July, it was just 60% and 59%.
Similarly, SpiceJet, another airline which has poor OTP at CSIA, in the past few months has shown improvement with 85% and 79% OTP for departing and arriving flights, respectively, in September. It was 77% and 69% in August, and 55% and 45% in July.
