Passenger flights set to become cheaper and faster as Govt announces to utilize Military Airspace

In the recently held press conference, Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister of India has stated that the government is working to efficiently utilize airspace over India to reduce the flying time of passenger aircrafts, which will benefit both the air carriers and environment.Currently, only 60 percent of the Indian airspace is freely available for passenger aircrafts and rest is controlled by the military. Utilizing the other airspace will reduce flying cost upto Rs 1000 crore by saving fuel and time. While the benefits will soak in losses incurred by airlines due to Coronavirus, it will eventually be passed to flyers, reducing ticket prices.Earlier, PM Narendra Modi held a meeting between officials from the Indian aviation industry, the Home Minister, the Finance Minister, and other senior officials of the Government of India for a comprehensive review of the strategies that could help in making India’s Civil Aviation sector more efficient.

It was decided in the meeting that the Indian Air Space should be effectively used in such a manner that the flying time is reduced benefiting the travelers and also helping the airlines to save costs in close co-operation with the Department of Military Affairs.

This essentially means that passenger aircrafts in India can now fly over prohibited zones designated by the military due to their sensitive nature to cut short the journey from one city to another. This will save both fuel and time for the flights, making them more cost-effective.

This move comes after the Indian aviation industry is struggling from the impact of coronavirus. To implement social distancing norms, many air carriers might not book the middle seats, hence reducing their earnings. However, the move to shorten flying time can save a considerable amount of money in fuel savings and turnaround time.

For reference, the Delhi-Mumbai average flying time is 2 hr. If a more direct route is taken, the flight time can be reduced by at least 10 minutes, bringing the flight time to less than 2 hrs. This essentially means a saving of at least 1000 litre of fuel both ways, which is a huge amount for the air carriers. Also, the turnaround time is improved, which means more flights in a day, increasing the operational profits for air carriers.

Source: News18