DGCA warns airlines of missing time slots for flight delays

Faced with persistent complaints of flight delays, aviation regulator DGCA has come up with a series of measures to ensure that airlines stick to their allotted take-off time, including a threat of not granting them the time-slots they miss in the next schedule.

In a new set of rules, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has asked airlines to get their flight schedules approved by it at least 30 days in advance and ensure that they strictly comply with them, official sources said.

A total of 30 flights would be scheduled per hour, with five departures every ten minutes, they said, adding that at least four slots per hour would be kept to allow VIP, non- scheduled and military air operations.

It also warned that the airlines not adhering to the approved time-slots would lose their claim on these slots in the next schedule, the sources said.

The regulator has also made it clear that the air traffic control would accept and operate only as per the accepted flight schedules of the carriers.

The DGCA also set time limits for the entire flight plans, including the push-back and taxi time for a departing aircraft, the sources said.

In case an aircraft does not adhere to the push-back clearance time, it would go back in the sequence of departures and allotted a flying slot only when a slot is available, they said.

The sequence of departures would be decided by the air traffic control "based on the position and readiness of aircraft approaching the entry point of the runway," the new rules said.