Afternoon, evening flights most delayed in May at city airport

Flights in and out of Mumbai during afternoon and evening were more delayed than those operating in the morning last month. Soubhik Mitra reports.

Flights in and out of Mumbai during afternoon and evening were more delayed than those operating in the morning last month.

HT Image

According to data compiled by the Mumbai airport operator, a large number of passengers who took flights in the afternoon and evening were inconvenienced as they faced most delays as compared to fliers who took morning flights.

The data released on Tues-day showed that the on-time performance of both arrivals and departures from the city fell through the day.

While 92% of the flights operated between 5am and 9am were on schedule, the punctuality fell to 87.5% over the next six hours. Flight operations between 3pm and 11pm, which includes the evening peak hour, saw on an average just 7 out of ten flights operating on time.

“This could be because small delays through the day get added up and have a cascading effect on the flight schedule by evening,” said a senior air traffic control (ATC) official, who did not wish to be named.

The data also found that 56% flights are delayed owing to “reactionary factors”, which comprises late boarding, crew rotation or unscheduled diversion of the flight. Air traffic congestion contributed to 22% of the delay — the second highest contributor.