Air India had the most number of delayed flights last month, according to a Directorate General of Civil Aviation report
Air India had the most number of delayed flights last month, according to a Directorate General of Civil Aviation report
If you are banking on Air India to help you reach your destination on time, chances are the Maharaja will let you down.
In May, the national carrier had the most number of flight delays with 2,651 of its 9,605 domestic flights taking off late.
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GROUNDED: Last month, Air India had the most number of flight delays with 2,651 of its 9,605 domestic flights taking off late. |
In April, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had asked all airlines to submit a detailed fortnightly report on the on-time performance of their flights.
The DGCA found that Kingfisher Airlines is a close second with 2,296 delayed flights.
"The best on-time performance was of Paramount Airways that operated 89 per cent of its flights on time, while the worst was of MDLR Airlines," a spokesperson of the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.
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On-time performance is defined as a flight taking off or arriving within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
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Percentage twistThough Air India had the most number of delayed flights, percentage wise, it ranks seventh on the list of nine carriers evaluated.u00a0
Paramount topped the table (see box) with only 144 of its 1,304 flights being delayed.
Paramount's managing director M Thiyagarajan said, "There is no harm in the public being aware of a carrier's on-time performance. This will showcase the inherent efficiency of the airline."
Though MDLR had the least number of delayed flights 106 percentage wise, it ranks a poor ninth, as it operates only 209 flights.
The DGCA compiled the report in an attempt to analyse the reasons for delayed flights at various airports. This is the first time that such a monitoring mechanism will be put in place.
However, Robey Lal, former country head for International Air Transport Association and a retired Airports Authority of India board member, said data collection alone might not help unless it is verified from air traffic controllers and thorough random checks by the DGCA.
