NEW DELHI: Slow-moving and low-capacity
turboprops may be eased out of the choked Delhi and Mumbai airports to add flights on faster and bigger planes. Both these megapolises, which together handle over two-thirds of India’s air traffic, are facing severe infra crunch. Capacity addition will take 3-5 years in the form of a fourth runway and an expanded Terminal 1 at
IGI and Greater Noida
airport for Delhi and Navi Mumbai airport for Mumbai.
To cope with growing demand in this interim period, the Airports Authority of India plans to shift turboprops out of these airports. “We have to optimise capacity both in the airside (hourly aircraft movement) and terminal-side (passenger handling capacity). The runway occupancy time of turboprops like ATRs is much higher than other (jet engine) planes. We are not saying that turboprop flights under regional connectivity scheme (RCS, which fly to smaller airports) should be stopped. But if Delhi and Mumbai are currently connected to a city by turboprop and that city’s airport can take an Airbus A-320 or Boeing 737 type aircraft, airlines should shift to those planes,” AAI chairman
Guruprasad Mohapatra said.
The plan was earlier this week discussed with airlines CEOs at a meeting called by aviation secretary R N Choubey. “Airlines understood the idea, but they said they already have a network and fleet commitment. They have sought time to study the plan,” Mohapatra said.
None of the big airlines that operate turboprop flights — Air India (through subsidiary Alliance Air),
IndiGo, Jet Airways and SpiceJet — and the operators of Delhi and Mumbai airports commented on the development till the time of going to press.
The bigger problem will be Mumbai that does not have an alternate airport where smaller planes can be shifted. For Delhi, the Hindon airbase in nearby Ghaziabad (UP) is being prepared for small aircraft civilian flights by early next year. AAI wants to have all RCS flights to and from Delhi there, and also shift non-RCS flights on planes with less than 80 seats, that includes turboprops and business jets, currently operating from the completely choked IGI Airport to Hindon.
The actual flight handling capacity of IGIA’s three runways is 67 — 62 schedule and five non-schedule.
Representative image 
