Through 2015, the Mumbai airport was the least punctual among four private-run metro airports -- Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad being the other three .
The on-time performance (OTP) report showed that on an average, only 74.36% flights every month were on schedule in Mumbai. Hyderabad (84.06%) and Bangalore (82.47%) did better. Even Delhi, which handles about 100 more take-offs and landings a day than Mumbai, recorded an average on-time performance of 81.56%. Mumbai handles an average of 865 flights daily. Barring January (when it was the third best), Mumbai stayed at the bottom of the table for the whole year.
The Mumbai air traffic control (ATC) establishment blamed errant arrivals for the mess.
"Let us assume a Mumbai-bound flight gets delayed in taking off from its airport of origin owing to poor weather; its arrival in the city gets delayed. This leads to bunching in the skies here," said Jayant Dasgupta, general manager, Mumbai ATC. "We are equipped to handle up to 30 arrivals in an hour. But such unplanned delays result in 35 to 40 incoming flights circling above the airport during peak hours."
25/01/16 Mcclatchy/AviationPros
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The on-time performance (OTP) report showed that on an average, only 74.36% flights every month were on schedule in Mumbai. Hyderabad (84.06%) and Bangalore (82.47%) did better. Even Delhi, which handles about 100 more take-offs and landings a day than Mumbai, recorded an average on-time performance of 81.56%. Mumbai handles an average of 865 flights daily. Barring January (when it was the third best), Mumbai stayed at the bottom of the table for the whole year.
The Mumbai air traffic control (ATC) establishment blamed errant arrivals for the mess.
"Let us assume a Mumbai-bound flight gets delayed in taking off from its airport of origin owing to poor weather; its arrival in the city gets delayed. This leads to bunching in the skies here," said Jayant Dasgupta, general manager, Mumbai ATC. "We are equipped to handle up to 30 arrivals in an hour. But such unplanned delays result in 35 to 40 incoming flights circling above the airport during peak hours."
25/01/16 Mcclatchy/AviationPros
