(MENAFN- Live Mint) Delhi Airport, already reeling under fog , will see further disruption starting January 19 as a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) has been released for closure of airspace over Delhi from 1020 hours to 1245 hours from January 19 to 26 - a total of eight days. This is for practice, dress rehearsal and the actual Republic Day parade, an annual celebration that includes a parade, flypast and display of culture and military hardware along Kartavya Path. The NOTAM was released today.
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How many flights are impacted? Data shared by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this article, shows that 1,336 flights will be impacted. The closure starts on January 19, a Sunday, and extends till Republic Day, the subsequent Sunday.
On Sundays, there are 85 departures and equivalent arrivals between 1020 and 1245 hours. On Monday, January 20, the impact involves 85 departures and 84 arrivals. Tuesday is the weakest day of travel when 79 departures and 81 arrivals will be impacted. The impact is in the range of 81 to 84 departures and 82 to 87 arrivals on the remainder of the day, totalling 665 departures and 671 arrivals over the eight-day period. The impact is not restricted to domestic flights, with the schedule showing an effect on flights from Toronto, Washington, Tashkent, Kathmandu, and Colombo among others. Such complete closures are needed for security reasons, to ensure the safety and security of aircraft involved in the flypast along with security of the dignitaries during the Republic Day celebration.
The flights which are impacted may not necessarily be cancelled. However, they would certainly have a time change. Alternatively, passengers will be accommodated on a different flight at a different time. Since this period also coincides with the fog times in Delhi, on a particular day when the visibility drops there could be chaos to handle as many flights and passengers in an even smaller operating window.
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What should the passengers do? If you are scheduled to fly in or out from Delhi at the specified timings and dates, ensure that the contact details are updated so that airlines can reach out at the earliest with the chances or cancellations. In case of a cancellation, airlines provide alternative options or a full refund. Considering the last-minute change, airfares are likely to be higher than when the ticket was booked, and hence opting for alternative options may be wiser.
Airlines can act only when they are officially informed about the NOTAM, and thus, there will be a scramble to adjust or cancel flights and send IRROPS (Irregular Operations) messages among others while working with airports across the country at the same time to handle changes. Retiming flights may not always be possible due to its impact on other airports, and airports like Mumbai are already operating at full capacity.
With Delhi Airport also operating at near-full capacity, changes to schedule are hard to come by and the system does not have any slack to handle as many flights before and after the closure.
Time to relook at announcement timing? As the government looks to project Delhi as a hub, with transfer of passengers, such relatively last-minute announcements impact many passengers and quite a few may look at other options to travel for future trips. While closure of airspace is imperative and important for safety and security, the advance warning and notice can come in much earlier, especially in the case of Republic Day, which is marked on the same date every year.
Is my flight impacted? The next few days will see airlines scramble to work with airports to adjust as many flights as possible and ensure that critical connections are maintained and they can operate as many flights as possible. To leave before the closure and arrive after the closure, airlines may change the schedule of flights which are not to or from Delhi and not within the closure hours. Passengers need to be aware about these, especially since there is extra security cover during Republic Day and it takes more time for security screening.
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The changes will start reflecting in a few days on the booking engine, while passengers will be informed subsequently on the contact details provided at the time of booking. If you are yet to book a flight, it is best advised to not book a flight which lands between the closure hours or takes off during those hours, since it certainly would see a change of timings.
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