New Delhi, Jan 6: Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL) on Friday asked all the airlines to cancel all domestic flights scheduled between 10.30 am and 12.15 pm from January 18 to January 26 from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. Nearly 1000 flights are expected to be cancelled from January 18 to 26 in view of Republic Day security.
“IGIA in consultation with Airports Authority of India (AAI) and NATS (UK-based ATC expert agency) has implemented a profile schedule which has enhanced the overall capacity by almost 13%. However, keeping into consideration the capacity constraints and to minimise inconvenience to passengers, AAI, several major airlines and DIAL consulted on various options and jointly agreed that the best and safest course of action is to cancel domestic flights during NOTAM period. International carriers have been requested to re-schedule,” the DIAL statement read.
Although airspace over the capital city remains closed for 105 minutes from January 18 to 26, most of the flights, scheduled to travel in that period, have been rescheduled. While 1000 domestic flights will be cancelled, international carriers have been requested to reschedule their flights.
Air India said DIAL has asked it to cancel seven departures and five arrivals. Unhappy with the new direction, a senior Air India official said, “We are taking up this matter with DIAL. How can we suddenly cancel flights like this?” Some other airlines have also said that they would talk to DIAL regarding the sudden cancellation of flights.
The new notice by DIAL, some airlines said, would cancel nearly 100 flights every day. If IGI cancels flights, it would mean fare hike for the other operating flights during those nine days. According to a report in TOI, the number of cancelled flights could actually be higher as the notice for airmen is for flights with a “buffer time of plus or minus 30 minutes”. This means that flights with arrival or departure time of 10.15 AM or 12.20 PM would also be affected.