E-Paper
Taking off with no place to land
So much optimism is in the air about Indian civil aviation, that we forget a basic fact: India accounts for 16 per cent of the global popula tion but only 0.02 per cent of the global civil aviation industry.
So much optimism is in the air about Indian civil aviation, that we forget a basic fact: India accounts for 16 per cent of the global popula tion but only 0.02 per cent of the global civil aviation industry. So, even though India's is the fastest growing civil aviation market in the world - last year the growth was 23 per cent, and in the next five years, average annual growth is expected to be 25 per cent -we have plenty of catching up to do. Us vs Them The same picture emerges when we compare passenger traffic and number of aircraft. Total air traffic is expected to rise by 5 million passengers each year over the next ten years in India. That means 50-55 million air passengers by 2010. Of this number, 30-35 million are expected to fly on LCCs. India currently has 198 aircraft. The number will jump to 640 by 2010. The LCCs fleet size is expected to grow to 350 from the current 24.
But, bring in China and see the difference. China had over 850 aircraft and 140 million domestic travellers last year. The industry there is growing at 23 per cent, despite the complete absence of LCCs.
In the US, there are over 6,000 aircraft and 700 million passengers flew last year. The leading global LCC player, the USbased SouthWest carries 70 million passengers every year. Ryan Air, based in Ireland a country with a population of 3.7 million carries 28 million passengers every year.
So, suppose air fares come down, will India catch up with at least China. Only, if we can solve the airport problem. The crunch The lack of adequate runways has already increased airport turnaround time. The Mumbai and Delhi airports handle half the total air traffic in the country -520 and 450 flights daily. An aircraft spends $100 worth of fuel for every minute they circle, according to International Air Transport Association estimates. Most wait between 15 and 45 minutes before landing in Delhi and up to an hour sometimes in the case of Mumbai. Delhi airport has two runways, but they can't be used at the same time as they are closer than allowed by international regulations. Delhi's going to need four parallel runways if it wants to keep pace with traffic growth.
Inadequate parking bays in Delhi and Mumbai are forcing many Indian carriers to park their fleet in other metros. Sahara Airlines has accepted Hyderabad airport as their main parking base, Jet Airways has been asked to park in Ahmedabad, and Air Deccan in Chennai.
According to projections, by 2010 both Delhi and Mumbai airports will have to handle three times the current traffic and will need around 50 more parking bays. And they need to be bigger. Parking bays cannot currently accommodate an aircraft like the A380, which is designed to fit in an 80 metre by 80 metre parking bay.
Of the 449 airports/airstrips in the country, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) owns and manages 92 airports and 28 civil enclaves at defence airfields. However, airlines are operating only through 61 airports. Also, Air Traffic Controllers in India are used to handling only a limited number of flights and with most systems still not automated, the scope for human delays and errors are larger now with more flights taking off and landing. Two signs of hope?
Besides Delhi and Mumbai, the AAI has proposed to modernise 25 non-metro airports to world-class standards. Another 50 airports are also being considered for improvement. The likely investment in the airport sector is around Rs 40,000 crore. But all this is really pie in the sky. The only two airports up for modernisation are those in Delhi and Mumbai. The next two sections talk about how Delhi's airport has to shape up and why Mumbai desperately needs another airport.
