Lok Sabha Question No. 552 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-28
Subject: Air Traffic Congestion
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Shri Benny Behanan, Shri Rajmohan Unnithan, Shri K Radhakrishnan

## 552.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 552

(To be answered on the 28 th  November 2024)

## AIR TRAFFIC CONGESTION

SHRI RAJMOHAN UNNITHAN SHRI BENNY BEHANAN SHRI K RADHAKRISHNAN

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a) the steps taken by the Government to investigate the frequent delays and
- cancellations of flights across the country;
- (b) whether it is true that heavy congestion and a shortage of runways at airports causes significant delays and passengers have to wait for hours for their flights and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the measures proposed to be implemented by the Government to address air traffic congestion and improve runway availability to reduce flight delays; and
- (d) the justification with the Government for high prices of flight tickets, particularly in light of increasing delays and deteriorating service?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

(Shri Murlidhar Mohol)

(a) to (c):  Scheduled flights get sometimes delayed due to various reasons such  as  weather,  technical  and  operational  issues.  In  order  to  reduce inconvenience caused to the passengers as a result of the cancellations/delay of the flights,  Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 3 Air  Transport Series M part IV titled "Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding  cancellation of flights and delay in flights." DGCA periodically monitors the delay and cancellations of the  flights and carries out inspection at various airports in the country on random basis to ensure compliance of laid  down  regulations.  In  case  any  airline  is  found  in  violation  of  the regulations,  penal  action,  including  financial  penalty,  is  imposed.

In order to reduce traffic congestion, AAI has  introduced five (05) NM

surveillance based horizontal  separation in the airspace with surveillance coverage in India w.e.f. 01-01-2024, contributing to enhancing  the airspace capacity.  In  addition,  AAI  has  established  Central  Air  Traffic  Flow Management (ATFM) unit in  Delhi with Flow Management Position Pan India. ATFM monitors the traffic at different airports in  India. Further, in whichever airport, it is anticipated  that there is demand and capacity imbalance, ATFM  unit takes action to resolve the situation by applying  flow measures.  The  ATFM system is continuously being upgraded to meet challenges  that  are  coming    up    with  the  air  traffic  growth. To meet the requirements of Air traffic / passengers growth, development of New Airports, expansions/ modification of existing terminals, addition of new passenger facilities, New terminals, expansions / strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Air Navigation Services (ANS) work like control tower, technical block etc. is also taken up by respective airport operators/developers including Airports Authority of India(AAI) depending upon various factors such  as  land  availability,  viability  of  the  airport,  available  financials, clearances  from  various  regulatory  authorities  etc. (d):  The Government does not regulate the fares set by airlines - Indian or foreign. The fares on any route are dependent, inter-alia, on seasonality, holidays and festivals, cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel, competition and other similar factors. Airline pricing runs in multiple levels {buckets or RBDs} which are in line with the practice being followed globally and due to dynamic fare pricing, the tickets bought in advance are much cheaper than those purchased near the travel date. Under the provisions of Rule 135(1) of the Aircraft Rules,  1937, the airlines are free to fix tariffs, having regard to all relevant factors, including cost of operation, characteristics of services, generally prevailing tariff etc. DGCA's Tariff Monitoring Unit (TMU) ensures that the fares being charged by the airlines are as per the tariff established by the airlines.

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