Airlines are cancelling flights from Mumbai a day after the Civil Aviation Ministry issued direction to ease congestion at Mumbai airport by cancelling about 40 flights a day.
According to the government officials, overall, only about three per cent of the daily flights being handled at the Mumbai airport have been cut. "The airport handles 1000 movements a day and about 30 movements will be cut (including both arrivals and departures). Even with this cut, the airport will be operating at full capacity," an official added.
Also Read: Government mandates flight reduction, limits business jet movements to ease congestion
The civil aviation ministry, in a statement on Tuesday night, stated: "While Mumbai Airport is running at its full capacity, it was found that the persistent congestion was caused due to: excessive slot distribution with limited time margins on behalf of the airport operator; non-adherence of the slots on behalf of the airlines and; non-scheduled operations during peak hours."
Akasa Air on Wednesday said it will be cancelling two of its flights between Mumbai and Bengaluru till March 30. On Tuesday, the airline said that it will be cancelling four of its flights between Mumbai and Bengaluru from February 15 to March 30.
"Considering this impact, we have to rationalise our network resulting in cancellation of flights QP 1374 (Mumbai to Bengaluru) and QP 1362 (Bengaluru to Mumbai) between February 15 to March 30," said Akasa Air in a statement.
The airline further said that it has offered options such as either rebooking at no additional fee or processing the full refund to the impacted passengers.Passengers can rebook on any date until April 15, 2024.
SpiceJet told Business Standard, that it has complied with the government’s directive, but did not specify the number of flights it was cancelling. The report also mentioned that a major Indian carrier was planning to cancel hundreds of flights, though the exact number was not finalised yet, since discussions are ongoing with the Mumbai International Airport Limited.
Indigo too in a statement said the affected passengers are being informed and being provided with options to either avail a full refund, travel to an alternate sector or reschedule their flight without mentioning how many flights are being cancelled