DGCA mulling to go for automatic system for airline punctuality

Aviation regulator DGCA is in discussion with domestic airlines to implement a fully automatic system for recording on-time performance (OTP) at four private airports for data accuracy.
The moves comes after Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) came across some instances of data being fudged during random sampling following a complaint by a budget carrier airline in this matter, a senior official said.
At present Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore airports submit OTP data of each airline to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which after scrutiny puts out this data for all airlines on a monthly basis.
OTP is one of the several measures to determine an airline's operational efficiency. It indicates whether an airline is operating its flights on time or not.

"At present there are a total of 375 stands (boarding areas) across the four private airports. Of these, only 115, or 36 per cent, are automatic ones and records the exact time of departure or arrival of an aircraft with the help of visual docking guidance system. However, in the rest of the areas, this is done manually," the official said.
While airbus aircraft have a system where this time captured and relayed electronically to the airport operator, all Boeing planes do not have this facility, the official said.

The regulator has already studied the model for recording airline's OTP in countries such as the US, which has 100 per cent automatic system, Australian and British, the official said, adding, "We are looking at recommending that model in India as well."

The DGCA's final report in this regard is expected by the month end, the official said.
Significantly, after the complaint from the budget carrier, DGCA had set up a panel to review the OTP monitoring mechanism at the four airports.