GVK Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), the company that manages Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), completed five years of operating the iconic Terminal 2 (T2) recently. The Mumbai Airport informed about the increase in On-Time Performance (OTP) of aircraft flying in and out of Mumbai. MIAL has undertaken several initiatives, along with the stakeholders to improve the OTP. As part of the initiatives, MIAL started measuring the time taken for carrying out each activity by the airline with a view towards optimizing the aircraft turnaround time.
These activities covered AME establishing contact with the pilot, connection of aerobridge to the aircraft, passenger boarding and de-boarding, catering loading and un-loading, aircraft fueling, aircraft cleaning etc. Thereafter, a critical path analysis of the activities was prepared to arrive at “minimum time required” for the aircraft turn around. This was shared with the respective airlines, to enable the airlines understand the areas where there was scope of improvement to reduce the overall time taken for the aircraft turnaround. The collaborative efforts have resulted in improvement in the airport OTP, with the average OTP of last seven months having shown an increase of 12 per cent.
On completion of five years of operation of T2, the Terminal has accounted for 25 per cent growth in Air Traffic Movement since 2014 and has reduced Runway Occupancy Time (ROT) from 65 seconds then to 47-49 seconds now. Operating to over 112 destinations in India and around the world, T2 helped the airport set a new record by handling 1,004 aircraft on a single runway on December 8, 2018, surpassing its previous record of handling 1,003 flight movements in a day in June 2018. The Mumbai International Airport has come a long way, since the last five years, being ranked first in Airport Service Quality (ASQ) during 2017. The five years of operations have seen the deployment of pioneering technologies for passengers travelling from Mumbai Airport.
The airport was the first to introduce a fully-automated check-in process generating boarding pass and baggage tag through ‘Common Use Self Service (CUSS)’ kiosks along with extended check-in facility located at host of five-star hotels in the city. Another first for an Indian airport was the introduction of Comfort Dog therapy for de-stressing weary travellers. MIAL was the first airport to introduce personalized meet and greet services, “Pranaam” that attends to all the needs at the airport, ensuring smooth and stress-free travel. India’s first vertical passenger terminal, the T2 has been the first mover in implementing sustainable practices in the Indian aviation industry. It is the only airport in India to have released a Sustainability Report according to GRI standards. It is also the first Indian airport to hold a platinum rating within an Existing Building (O&M) Rating System for its environmentally sustainable profile. Today, Terminal 2 has installed capacity of 3,205 kWp of solar power and is in the process of installing an additional 1,381 kWp capacity of solar power. MIAL is the only Indian airport to have received the prestigious Airport Carbon Accreditation extension until 2021.
The Mumbai International airport hosts India’s largest public art initiative – the GVK Jaya He New Museum located right inside terminal T2 which is an impressively rich embroidery of India’s cultures and traditions. T2 also boasts of a sprawling 21,000 sq mts of retail area housing over 100 retail brands and food outlets where travellers can indulge in a relaxing sessions at various outlets such as Jaya He store, Lotus, Forest Essentials, TUMI, Michael Kors and food brands including Burger King, Vaango, Irani Café, Starbucks, Amreli, amongst others. Over a period of 5 years, T2 has been conferred with more than 120 coveted awards and accolades for outstanding achievements in the field of efficiency, sustainability, and services. GVK Lounge is the first ever luxury lounge at any airport in the world, common for all airlines and has bagged awards for 4 years in a row for is its services. CSMIA is one amongst only three airports in the world to have been inducted into the Airports Council International (ACI) Director General’s Roll of Excellence for being consistently ranked among the top five airports in its category under the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) program. The other awards received by the airport include ‘Best airport in India/ Central Asia’ by Skytrax World Airport Awards 2018, World’s Best Airport for Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards 2017 by ACI, the prestigious Gold – Green Airports recognition 2018 by ACI, the “Best Metro Airport award” and the “Airport offering best facilities for sick, elderly & physically challenged” for 2017-18 by Air Passengers Association of India amongst many others.
