Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), one of the busiest in India, has seen a significant improvement in air traffic management. The civil aviation ministry reported a decrease in flight arrival delays on Wednesday, February 28.
The ministry had issued orders two months ago to address the issue of airport congestion. This included a reduction in flights. The ministry compared air traffic trends between November 11–December 10, 2023, and February 16–24, 2024. The comparison showed that the ministry's actions are having a positive impact.
Between February 16 and 24, 4,337 planes arrived at the airport. Only 178 of these experienced a delay of 30 to 60 minutes. The delays were less than an hour. In contrast, between November 11 and December 10, 2023, 14,476 planes arrived. Of these, 2,141 experienced delays of 30 to 60 minutes.
The airport has two intersecting runways. However, they cannot be used at the same time. During High Intensity Runway Operations (HIRO), only one runway operates. The one runway can only handle 46 aircraft movements per peak hour.
On January 2, the ministry instructed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Mumbai airport operator MIAL to limit non-scheduled flight operations during specific times. MIAL has been implementing the directives since February 20 in cooperation with airlines. Airlines have also decreased the flights that operate to and from the Mumbai airport.
The ministry issued directives that included flight restrictions. This came in response to a study by AAI. The study found that excessive slot distribution and inadequate slot adherence were the primary causes of the airport's traffic congestion.
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