Airports issues:Airlines execs to meet MoCA officials tomorrow

Senior executives of domestic carriers, including Air India and Jet Airways, are likely to discuss with Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) officials about operational issues at Mumbai and other major airports, here tomorrow.
Apart from the airlines, executives of airport operators at Delhi and Mumbai as well as from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are scheduled to meet Ministry officials.
Sources said the representatives of airlines and airport operators would be meeting Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey and other officials here tomorrow.
The discussions are expected to focus on a raft of operational issues related to the carriers at various airports and possible solutions, they added.

The meeting is expected to be attended by executives from Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo, GoAir and Jet Lite -- which together make up the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) -- as well as other local carriers, including Air India.
Representatives of DIAL and MIAL, which operates Delhi and Mumbai airports, respectively, would also attend the meeting.

Airlines are facing issues at various airports, including at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. They vary from congestion to delay in getting ATC clearance which are adversely impacting the on-time performance of many carriers, sources said.
There are congestion issues at the airport in the national capital and airlines are looking at near-term solutions as implementation of the master plan for expansion, including having an additional runway, would take at least three to four years, they added.

According to sources, in the case of Mumbai airport, there have been delays in getting clearance from the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) against the backdrop of increased flight schedules.
Among others, at Chennai and Kolkata airports, carriers are grappling with infrastructure constraints, mainly since terminal capacity has not kept pace with the increase in aircraft movements, sources said.