Saturday, December 13, 2014

Seaplanes to use chopper routes to avoid Mumbai airport traffic delays

Seaplanes will technically be called helicopters, as clearance window to carrier from ATC is small.

Faced with regular delays in take-offs and landings thanks to a small clearance window from Mumbai Airport, air traffic controllers have designated the sea plane - the only fixed-wing aircraft operating from Juhu - as a helicopter for operational reasons. 

On Thursday, Airports Authority of India (AAI) conducted a trial run by assigning the Mehair-operated seaplane a new routing pattern that follows chopper flight paths and over sea. This would avoid interfering with Mumbai airport operations, and end dependence on air traffic movement there. 

"The clearance window allotted to Mehair by Mumbai ATC is small and they are unable to take off within that, which results in their departures being put on hold," an ATC official said. 

Mehair co-founder and director, Siddharth Verma, told Mirror, "We had requested AAI to consider assigning a different routing so that we are not kept on hold with passengers on board. It can be annoying for passengers to wait endlessly as our pilots await an all-clear signal from Mumbai ATC, which coordinates 48 flight movements every hour." 

On Wednesday, AAI reviewed seaplane operations and decided to try out a routing similar to helicopters (and over the sea) that use Juhu aerodrome without depending on movement of big aircraft at Mumbai airport. "Using the new routing, the flight to Pavana on Thursday departed on time and returned ahead of schedule," Verma said. The changes in routing might also bring down fares, he added.

- Source:    http://www.mumbaimirror.com




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