Mumbai airport to cancel hundreds of flights to reduce congestion. This is what it means for you as a traveller

In a bid to solve the persisting issue of congestion at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Union Ministry of Civil Aviation forced the city Airport to reduce flights due to the allotment of excessive slots leading to aircrafts hovering above the airport for nearly an hour.

As of now, Mumbai operates more flights than any airport with a single runway and in December it clocked its highest-monthly traffic of 4.88 million passenger

What are your options in case of cancellations?
In case of cancellations, passengers will have the option of either opting for a full refund or rebook their flights. The passengers who choose the option of rebooking their trips have time till April 15, 2024. Hundreds of flights are expected to be cancelled till March 30 following the directive issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to the Mumbai airport to ease runway congestion. Within a week of the Ministry’s order, airlines will be forced to cut around 40 flights, ET reported.

Apart from common passengers, the recent curbs have drawn protests from major corporate giants like JSW, Reliance and others after the curfew on operation of business jets at the airport was extended from four hours to eight hours.

Prices may rise due to recent curbs:

Apart from the cancellations, another issue that will add to the worries of the passengers is the price of the flights. ET has reported that the government’s decision to impose the curbs will lead to airfares shooting up.After the travellers voiced their concerns over the potential rise in airfares, the Aviation Ministry announced that this action has been taken in the greater public interest from the perspective of airspace safety, efficiency of operations, and passenger satisfaction. “The Government of India, realises that it needs to step in to strike a balance between the needs of both airport operators and airlines while ensuring that passengers have a fulfilling experience while flying from Mumbai Airport,” the Ministry said. Airport Authority of India in its analysis found that aircraft movement at the airport during peak hours (from 8 AM to 11 AM & 5 PM to 8 PM) was almost equivalent to air traffic permitted per hour during the remaining 18 hours of the day. In addition to the above slots, business jets and military aircraft operations were also allowed without any restrictions.

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