Stick to the flight plan or face consequences: DGCA warns airlines

To reduce the delays owing to the last minute changes in flight plans, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines to stick to the schedule approved by the regulator.

DGCA officials said the directive comes after airlines, which had a few flights arriving before the expected time, requested the Air Traffic Control (ATC) to let them depart before the scheduled time.

In a circular, the DGCA warned the airlines that it will rejig their flight schedule if they do not abide by the timings approved by the regulator.

Sources said at airports such as Delhi and Mumbai, minor steps taken towards saving time and enforcing punctuality will reduce delays.

An Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said, “Once their aircraft land before time, a few airlines insist that they be allowed to depart earlier than the time approved. This unnecessarily burdens the ATC and causes last minute changes.”

The circular issued to all the airlines and airport operators also stated to slot departure flights so that maximum five departure can be slotted in 10 minutes and 30 flights every hour. The aviation regulator has asked airlines to push back (for lining up to take off) and start their flights at least 15 minutes prior to the time of departure.

The circular reads: “Approval for push back and start up shall be valid for five minutes only. Aircraft not adhering to push back clearance will go back in the sequence. Subsequent clearance will be given based on available slot.”

Asserting that the ATC is the sole authority to sequence departing flights based on its positions and readiness, the DGCA asked airlines to complete all predeparture checks and cabin procedures before the flights enter the runway and be ready to take off once ATC receives clearance.

Airport operators have been asked to prepare parking plan in such a way that no two aircraft, scheduled to depart in 20 minutes, are parked on the same block of the parking bays. Moreover, airlines have been asked to submit the flight routing by the previous evening (6pm) for better planning of flight schedules.