Flying in and out of Mumbai to get costlier

Flying in and out of Mumbai is set to get expensive

With the country’s airline passenger traffic growing at 20 percent annually, Mumbai airport authorities will soon start facing a severe shortage of land to keep up with the growing demand.

As of today, Mumbai airport manages about 50 aircraft movements each hour. With only one run runway at their disposal, airport authorities are unable to increase the number of flights. Efforts made by the government and the airport operator to rehabilitate slum dwellers around the airport to free up land are also stuck due to various reasons.

The inability to accommodate more landing spots would inadvertently lead to an increase in the cost of flight operators, most of whom would likely transfer it to the travellers.

According to Ajay Prakash, former president of the Travel Agents’ Federation of India, a saturated Mumbai airport will adversely impact the growth in Indian aviation. But with no other alternative in sight, travellers might have to shell out more money till Navi Mumbai’s airport becomes fully operational.