The Hindu Business Line : Airport congestion a worldwide problem

Chennai May 1 Mumbai and Delhi airports have been much in the news for the escalating congestion problem. Look around and you would find `congestion' in many other places too.

For instance, BAA, which owns and runs seven airports in the UK, is `working hard to ensure that airport congestion is kept to a minimum,' as http://news.opodo.co.uk reports; BAA has `an ambitious target of bringing queuing time down to five minutes or less 95 per cent of the time.'

Expansion plans

Aiming to attract Asian cargo flights currently stopping in Alaska, the airport in Prince George, British Columbia, proposes a $30-million runway expansion project expanding the main runway to 11,400 feet, informs www.aero-news.net; the expansion would accommodate large cargo jets, and offer less congestion, it is hoped.

A story on www.bangkokpost.com speaks of measures to prevent congestion at Suvarnabhumi airport, Thailand.

And www.dailynews.com reports about the views of `Regional Solutions to Airport Congestion' on the woes of Los Angeles International Airport.

Closer home, Coimbatore airport has a proposal for a Rs 30-crore parallel taxiway to ease peak-hour runway congestion.

"Congestion is not a static problem with a time when it is `fixed'," comments Mr Ron Kuhlmann, Editor of the Unisys aviation publication Scorecard.

Routing practices

He cites the US FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Chief, Ms Marion C. Blakey, for the view that the congestion issue is a huge area where India can make advances by adopting better air traffic routing practices.

"I hope India is able to move forward towards a more corporate-style of aviation. That has to develop significantly. I am very optimistic about the future of Indian carriers and the Indian aviation business," she had said at the three-day US-India Aviation Partnership Summit, in New Delhi, recently.

"There are certainly short-term gains that can be achieved. But the existing carriers in India have over 100 aircraft on order and any progress will soon be overtaken by industry growth," opines Mr Kuhlmann, in a recent interaction with Business Line.

"As we have seen elsewhere, congestion, especially at certain times of the day, is a chronic condition. But a well-planned expansion of the infrastructure will certainly make the impending growth more manageable.

A long-term plan for infrastructure renewal is the most important component for a successful future," suggests Mr Kuhlmann.

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