Surat: It has been almost two months since the Airports Authority of India (AAI) submitted all the safety documents related to the completed 185 metre patch of the existing runway at Surat airport, but they are still awaiting approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Airlines operating from the Diamond City are facing unique problem, especially during the summer months, known as ‘load penalty’. This means booking seats less than available.
If suppose Air India is operating Airbus 319 between Surat and Delhi having a total of 140 seats, it could actually accommodate only 105 to 106 passengers due to load penalty, which is aimed at ensuring safe take-off at short runways.
The actual runway length at city’s airport has been increased from 2,250 metre to 2,905 metre. However, the airlines operating from Surat airport can make use of only 1,905 metre of runway — pending approval for 185 metre completed patch of runway and 615 metre runway displaced by DGCA due to building height obstruction at Vesu.
In a reply through AirSewa, AAI stated that the repairing work of 185 metre runway has been completed and document have been submitted on February 28, 2018, for seeking approval from DGCA. The electrical works of ground lighting facilities of 185 metre runway and lighting related to instrument landing system (ILS) has been completed and the SCARS documents for commissioning have already been forwarded to DGCA for approval. As of now 1,905 metre length of runway is available for operations.
The 185 metre patch is located in the middle of 1,000 metre runway part on the Vesu side, where the 615 metre patch has been displaced by DGCA due to the building height obstructions. This means that the available runway length is only 1,905 metre out of the total 2,905 metre.
Sources said the big aircrafts like Airbus 319 and Airbus 320 are operating on load penalty and the passengers travelling to and from Surat directly comes under the dynamic fare system, where the airlines charges above Rs 10,000 for a single trip to any destination. At present, more than 150 passengers have been paying dynamic charges to the tune of over Rs 10 lakh per day to the airline companies.
RTI activist Rajesh Modi told TOI, “No airline company would operate incurring losses. The load penalty is a big setback for the growth of Surat airport. DGCA should immediately approve the commissioning of 185 metre runway. This will add 385 metre runway in the existing usable runway length of 1,905 metre, taking the total runway length at 2,290 metre”
Sources said Spice Jet CEO is learnt to have written to the ministry of civil aviation to abolish load penalty from Surat airport for smooth flight operations.