Following the latest directives from the Maharashtra government aimed at clearing Mumbai Airport, multiple flights have been cancelled. The issue of ongoing congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport International Airport Limited in Mumbai (CSMIA) has been taken up to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).
The ministry highlighted the root causes of congestion in a statement released on February 13. The list includes non-scheduled operations during peak hours, airlines that did not adhere to slots, and an excessive distribution of slots with short time margins.
The ministry instructed the airport operator to make sure all airlines adhere to the guidelines, expressing worry over CSMIA's lack of remedial action. Several airlines reported flight cancellations and reductions on February 14. As airlines eliminate flights, consumer organizations are concerned that the cost of plane tickets may rise. They claim that if the government stays out of this matter, the airline tariffs may upset the dynamics of supply and demand, forcing customers to pay more for their tickets.
The Jyotiraditya Scindia-led government announced on February 13, that there is excess capacity and congestion on the runways of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMI), which unintentionally causes congestion in the airspace. As a result, planes are compelled to spend a significant amount of time—roughly 40 to 60 minutes—over the city. To ensure Mumbai airport stays clear of traffic and returns to some sort of punctuality, about 40 planes must be cancelled or cut off each day.
On January 2, CSMIA was directed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to limit aviation traffic movement from 46 to 44 per hour when runway operations are intense, and from 44 to 42 when runway operations are not intense.
As per instructions to reduce flow at Mumbai airport, IndiGo said in an official statement that there have been some cancellations starting on February 15. Affected passengers are being notified and given the choice to either receive a full refund, transfer to a different sector, or reschedule their flight.
As part of its decongestion initiative, Akasa Air has suspended flights between Mumbai and Bengaluru until March 30. Akasa Air Spokesperson said that directions being implemented to decrease runway congestion at CSMI are expected to affect airline flight operations to and from Mumbai. Given this impact, they have to rationalise their network, which leads to the cancellation of flights QP 1374 (Mumbai to Bengaluru) and QP 1362 (Bengaluru to Mumbai) between February 15 and March 30.
Critics contend that fewer flights could negatively impact customers, especially in the form of increased ticket costs. In order to prevent customers from bearing an unfair financial burden, they demand that the government take action on the matter of airline tariffs.
Sirish Deshpande of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat opined that supply and demand economics is the foundation of everything. The government should make sure that this doesn't lead to an increase in the rate that the airlines charge for their tickets. If the cost of the fares increases, the government is quite entitled to intervene. The airlines will undoubtedly raise their fares if the government permits demand-supply economics to function unhindered. Because there is increased flight traffic during holidays and vacations, the airlines raise their fares.
He further added that the government has the authority to control air traffic congestion, but consumers will also demand that you control tariffs. Mumbai airport is one of the busiest, so customers shouldn't have to suffer as a result of inadequate planning, air traffic control, or the airport operating at full capacity. The government cannot just look at one side of the story and ignore all the issues being faced by travelers.
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