With 4 of 10 flights delayed, Mumbai least punctual metro airport in July

MUMBAI: The country’s second busiest airport was also the least punctual among the four privately-run metro airports in July, data released by the civil aviation

MUMBAI: The country’s second busiest airport was also the least punctual among the four privately-run metro airports in July, data released by the civil aviation ministry said on Monday.

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The data showed only 57.46% of flights shuttling in and out of Mumbai were on time, which means four of ten flights were delayed. Hyderabad (84.44%) and Bangalore (84.35%) recorded the best on-time performance, and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International recorded 82.1% on-time flights, despite being India’s busiest airports.

“Mumbai airport’s on-time performance was 26.17 percentage points below the average. This means Mumbai fliers saw more than double the waits compared to other metro fliers,” said a senior executive with an aviation think tank.

Sources in the Mumbai air traffic control department said July’s flight delay was a concern.

“It was not just the most unpunctual month of 2016, flight delays increased by a large margin compared to the past few years owing to the heavy rain,” the official said.

While more flights are delayed during the monsoon, delays in the month of July was not such a pervasive problem before 2012, when only 18% of the flights were delayed. In July 2015, 29.5% flights were delayed, in July 2014, it was 29% and in July 2013, it was 25.5%. Sources said senior ministry officials are likely to take up the issue in an out-of-turn meeting next week.