With Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines remaining defunct, private business charter associations have approached the city airport authorities and civil aviation ministry for transferring the parking bay allotted to the airline to private charters.
According to aviation industry insiders, there is severe shortage of parking space for private charters. In a recent letter to civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA) said there is urgent need to create additional parking space for private charters as the number has remained stuck at 24 for over a decade now. The demand, if implemented, is expected to provide around 10 additional parking spaces for private charters, which otherwise have to go to far-flung airports in other cities just to park, burning precious fuel in the process.
The letter requests that immediate parking space be created at LIMA parking bay, which was previously occupied by Kingfisher Airlines. "BAOA has already submitted a suggested Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to ATC Mumbai for optimum utilisation of the bay," said the letter undersigned by Group Capt Rajesh Kumar Bali (retired), secretary of BAOA.
However, sources with Mumbai ATC have certain apprehensions regarding the proposal as it may hamper the existing efficiency of runway operations. ATC recently recorded 51 aircraft movements per hour.
But the BAOA has negated the apprehensions in a proposal it sent to ATC contending that the very fact the bay was earlier allotted to Kingfisher Airlines means operations are feasible from there.
"In any case, non-scheduled operators are given limited slots in an hour, which, for LIMA dispersal operators, can be further regulated, if runway crossing is likely to cause delays. In other words, undertaking can be taken from aircraft parked in LIMA dispersal that if secondary runway is used, slots could be further restricted and significant delays for taxi on ground should be expected. The aircraft operating from there should plan contingencies for additional fuel requirements," added the BAOA proposal to ATC.
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