Saurabh Sinha | TNN
New Delhi: Juhu airport could hold the key to easing massive air traffic
congestion at Mumbai. The GVK group, which won the project to modernise
Chhatrapati Shivaji airport, has informed the civil aviation ministry that
building a new parallel runway will be very difficult in the existing space.
The group has asked the ministry to consider shifting slow moving aircraft
and business jets to Juhu to increase the capacity of Mumbai airport.
According to sources, estimates show that shifting such traffic may
increase peak hour capacity of the crossing runways from 40 to 60. Shifting
business jets alone is expected to increase peak capacity by 10 per hour.
The ministry is learnt to have taken the proposal for shifting all slow
aircraft (which means up to ATRs) to Juhu with a pinch of salt. “This would
mean great inconvenience for transit passengers who have to shift from a
small aircraft to a bigger one as going from Juhu to Santa Cruz or Sahar
means passing through congested roads,” said sources. However, the proposal
for shifting business jets has got a more favourable response and it is
being considered seriously. Currently, Juhu airport is used by Pawan Hans
for helicopter operations.
The GVK group, which is leading the Mumbai International Airport (P) Ltd
(MIAL) consortium, is also learnt to have told the ministry that expanding
the existing international terminal would happen once the encroachments are
cleared. Government will push for second city airport
New Delhi: Both a new runway and better terminal were part of the OMDA
agreement that the consortium MIAL signed with the government last year.
These were part of the first phase of improvement that had to be carried out
to provide some relief to passengers.
Unlike Delhi, Mumbai’s airport expansion plans are facing some troubles
because of problems like shortage of land and encroachments. Delhi, on the
other hand, is virtually a greenfield airport as vast stretches of land are
available for the job. Aviation minister Praful Patel had recently admitted
the same.
“Delhi is much easier compared to what has to be done in Mumbai,” he
had said. The ministry is learnt to be more satisfied with the pace of work
in Delhi, where the foundation stone of the new integrated terminal and
third runway would be laid by Congress president Sonia Gandhi at a function
to be presided by Patel on Saturday.
Mumbai may have to wait longer for some real good news. With GVK
admitting that a new runway-vital to handling growing traffic-is difficult
to be built, a worried ministry is now focusing on pushing the second
airport for Mumbai that has to be built in Navi Mumbai near Panvel.
Juhu airport could be key to improving traffic at the regular airports: GVK
group