The Kolkata airport authorities have staggered departure timings of domestic flights to avoid congestions and delays during rush hours.
The departure timings of some of the morning flights have been changed “from a particular hour to another hour” to decongest air traffic, said an official at the airport. The new plan has been in force for around two weeks.
“It’s too early to say, but we are seeing some promising signs resulting from the move,” the official said.
“The number of flights operating during rush hours has been rationalised with an aim to decongest the airport and minimise delays during rush hours, when we have maximum departures,” said C. Pattabhi, director of the Kolkata airport.
“We have restricted the number of flights during rush hours.”
The civil aviation ministry had mulled the plan to stagger the departures at some of the busiest airports of the country to reduce delays and ensure smooth passage for passengers.
On Tuesday, April 4, the Kolkata airport had nine departures planned between 5am and 5.59am, and seven between 6am and 6.59am, sources said. On March 4, 10 departures had been scheduled 5am and 5.59am and eight between 6am and 6.59am, the sources said.
Between 5pm and 5.59pm, as many as 11 departures had been scheduled on March 4. On April 4, the count stood at eight.
The civil aviation ministry has been discussing with domestic airlines ways to reduce overall congestion at some of the busy airports. Reducing the number of flights operated during rush hours is one of the options discussed, said officials.
“At the Kolkata airport, congestion of domestic flights is the main issue because only a few international flights are operating,” said an official.
Now, 168 domestic flights take off from the city airport every day on an average, compared with only 24 (average) international departures, officials said.
An official at the airport said a number of flights were arriving late during the rush hours because congestions caused by departing flights was forcing the incoming ones to hover over the airport for quite some time before they were allowed to land.
“This leads to a chain delay in the departure of the aircraft for other destinations,” the official said.
“The situation turns worse when the primary runway, which is bigger and allows aircraft to get off it faster, is closed for maintenance,” said another official. “Departures and landings take more time when the secondary runway is operational, leading to more delays.”
The delays, he pointed, are also causing congestion at the terminal building.
Close to 23,000 domestic passengers now leave the city airport daily on an average.
“Many passengers often report to the airport three to four hours before the scheduled departure. Delays in arrivals and subsequent departures cause huge congestions in the security hold and boarding areas. We hope to address the issue by staggering the departures,” the official said.
Some of the airlines said morning and evening rush hours were preferable because of high demand from passengers.
“Often flights in the non-rush hours do not bring the desired yield, unlike ones operated in the early morning and evening. Passengers, too, find it more convenient to take an early morning or an evening flight, particularly when they are flying between two metros,” said an official of a domestic airline.
Passengers who frequently take morning flights from the Kolkata airport often complain of long queues. The authorities are trying to address the issue by introducing DigiYatra, a biometric-based system that promises a faster passage from the terminal entry gate through boarding.
