The commissioning of N-5 taxi track at the Visakhapatnam International Airport, which was expected to result in a substantial increase in the number of slots for operation of commercial flights, appears to have fallen short of yielding the desired result.
The facility was commissioned in August 2021.
The increase in slots is needed to attract domestic and international airlines to operate services to and from Visakhapatnam. The main hurdle here is that the Visakhapatnam airport is a customs facility, with a civil enclave, operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), and the Naval Air Station INS Dega. The Air Traffic Control (ATC) is also under the control of the Navy.
A few years ago, when the slots for commercial flights were reduced during the peak hours, the authorities concerned allotted more peak time slots for commercial flights. It was thought that the construction of N-5 taxi track, which considerably reduces the time taken for turnaround of flights, would solve the problem to some extent.
Prior to COVId-19 pandemic, the airport was equipped to handle 10 flights an hour or 240 flights a day. At that time, 160 slots were allotted for civil flights and 80 to military aircraft. However, of the 160 slots given to commercial flights, only 80 were convenient, while the rest were given at odd hours.
The commissioning of N-5 in August, 2021, should have resulted in the slots going up to 12 an hour. The Airport Advisory Committee (AAC), met at the airport on September 19 to take stock of the developments. Visakhapatnam MP M.V.V. Satyanarayana, who is also AAC Chairman, expressed displeasure on being told that the slots have not been increased and the expanded terminal building was yet to be utilised fully.
The MP said that he would take up the issue with the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, if the N-5 taxi track and expanded terminal building were not put to use within a month.
“We have sent proposals to the authorities concerned for operation of the N-5 N-5 taxi track and for shifting of Customs and Immigration facilities to the new area in the expanded terminal building. However, we are yet to get a response from them. Nothing is pending with the AAI,” Airport Director K. Srinivasa Rao told The Hindu on Tuesday.
