DGCA to probe evening flight delays in city

The country's aviation regulator has stepped in to check the massive arrival delays at the Mumbai airport during evenings.

The country's aviation regulator has stepped in to check the massive arrival delays at the Mumbai airport during evenings.

HT Image

Last week, the airport had several flights hovering over it awaiting permission to land. Some of these flights had reached Mumbai airspace before their scheduled arrival time, which led to air congestion.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Monday, asked the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to submit a list of Mumbai-bound flights reaching the city airport before their scheduled arrival time.

“We will compare the flight's actual operation time with the timings printed in their schedule and take necessary action,” said Lalit Gupta, deputy director general, DGCA.

Sources told HT that airlines have been manipulating their evening flight timings to reach the city airport between 8pm and 10pm, which is the most popular slot among fliers. “Business fliers prefer flights in this slot. Airlines have been manipulating their timings to get maximum passenger occupancy,” said an air traffic control (ATC) official from Mumbai.