After revival, Ludhiana-Delhi AI flight sees 84 per cent occupancy

As per the latest figures with the The Indian Express, in September, the flight recorded 86.38 per cent occupancy. In October (before flight was suspended), the number stood at 82.32 per cent and in November it was 78.09 per cent (after flight was restarted). In December till Monday, flight has seen 90.71 per cent occupancy. The average occupancy since September has been 84.37 per cent.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Pawan Kumar, assistant manager, air traffic control department from Airport Authority of India (AAI) said that the response has been beyond expectations. “On an average there is more than 80 per cent occupancy both in departure and arrival flights,” he said.

However, landing facilities at Sahnewal airport still remain an issue. “Air India had to suspend the flight from October 29 to November 20 as air quality had deteriorated to extreme levels. The visibility levels were less than 1,000 mt and it was too risky to land the flights here. On some days, it was even 800 mt. It was resumed after visibility improved,” he said.

With the current Doppler Very High Frequency Omniranger (DVOR) system functioning at the air airport, there can be no landing if visibility is less than 1,500 mt. “We need instrument landing system (ILS) here for better landing facilities. Otherwise it is always too risky if visibility is less than 1,500 mt,” he added. In 2014, when Air India had discontinued Ludhiana-Delhi flight due to poor facilities at airport and low occupancy, even the DVOR system was not installed and landing became next to impossible in winters.

The airport currently has runway strip of 1,460 mt which needs to be upgraded to at least 2,100 mt if a bigger aircraft has to be operated. While 50 per cent seats are capped for Rs 2,000 under UDAN, price of rest depends on demand-supply and price goes up to Rs 2,500.