Jumbos to fly from CISA soon

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) the certification to operate A380 jumbo aircraft, airport officials said on Thursday.

"The certification of being A380 compliant has been received by us," said a CSIA official, who did not wished to be named. Airport sources said that many airlines, including Lufthansa, Singapore and Emirates airways have shown interest in deploying their A380s from Mumbai.

The A380 aircraft, also called the jumbos, are the largest flying machines and could accommodate over 850 passengers (all economy) at one time. The authorities claim that deployment of such jumbo planes will bring down the airfares for passengers.

Sources in DGCA and the ministry said that CSIA is set to be the first airport in the country from where the jumbo aircraft would operate.

The development coincides with the bilateral seat quota enhancement of 11,000 seats per week to Dubai announced by the Civil Aviation ministry on Wednesday. This means that airfares to Dubai from the Mumbai are all set to get cheaper.

"The winter of 2014 may see the arrival of Emirates' A380s which will further reduce the airfares to India," said Amber Dubey, India head of Aerospace and Defense at global consultancy KPMG.

Mumbai ranks among the top in terms of passengers commuting to Dubai and vice versa.

Industry experts claim that low airfares are essential for the tourism industry which records an abysmal foreign tourist arrival of 7 million per year, despite an unlimited bounty of natural, religious and cultural attractions. The tiny Singapore on the other hand gets 14 million foreign tourists per year, Malaysia 25 million and China 58 million.