Juhu Airport to shorten operation hours due to staff crunch at ATC

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Juhu Airport director Sonam Nurboo said that some of the ATCs had to go for training. “We have some internal issues,” he said. “We have not reduced watch (operating) hours at present and are yet to issue orders. We have held discussions with stakeholders”

MUMBAI: Due to a shortage of air traffic controllers (ATCs), operations at Juhu Airport will be soon curtailed from 8 am to 5 pm instead of the earlier dawn-to-dusk policy. The airport sees 80 to 100 air traffic movements (including landings and take-offs), and the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), which operates helicopters for rigs and platforms, will be one of the most affected.

Juhu Airport to shorten operation hours due to staff crunch at ATC

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Juhu Airport director Sonam Nurboo said that some of the ATCs had to go for training. “We have some internal issues,” he said. “We have not reduced watch (operating) hours at present and are yet to issue orders. We have held discussions with stakeholders.”

Ulhas Marchande, the ATC in charge of Juhu Airport, said, “Last year, we had 12 ATCs but now there are just eight. Even working from 8 am to 5 pm is difficult but we are stretching ourselves and managing. We have already informed our head office about the shortage.”

Juhu Airport is the oldest airport in the country and renowned as the place from where JRD Tata, the father of Indian civil aviation, began his flights. Although it is the oldest airport, there is no instrument landing system installed here or night-landing facilities. At present, it is used mainly by helicopters and a few fixed wing aircraft that come to the maintenance and repairs organisations which operate from Juhu. There are also some hobby flyers who station their choppers and small planes there.

Many landsharks have been eyeing the Juhu plot but the airport is crucial for ONGC’s offshore operations and helicopters owned by industrial houses. Uday Gelli, senior consultant with HeliGo, a helicopter charter company, said that ONGC would be the most affected party. “It has at least 20 helicopters flying to its rigs and oil platforms in Bombay High,” he said.

Gelli said that most stakeholders had opposed the curtailment of hours at the airport. Big helicopter charter companies like HeliGo and Global Vectra have told the Airport Authority of India that this is not acceptable,” he said. “This will also mean that helicopters will have to spend less time on oil rigs and platforms.” Added a helicopter pilot operating for ONGC, “There is a shortage of fuel in the country due to the West Asia crisis, and ONGC is working overtime because of this. To reduce the operating hours at the airport is bad for the country as well.”

The move has been opposed by other sectors as well. “We give helicopter rides over Mumbai and also fly to other centres,” said a chartered flight operator. “For us, reduced time means fewer customers, especially those who want to see the Mumbai sunset.”

A helicopter pilot working for a corporation said, “Very often, we drop our bosses at the Mahalakshmi racecourse helipad late in the evening and then fly back to Juhu Airport. If Juhu Airport officials want to shut down early, we will have to take the helicopter to some other airport like Navi Mumbai.”