Mumbai air space is all set to handle green flights or user preferred routes (UPR) flights. The city's Air Traffic Control (ATC) will be equipped to allow part of its air space for green flights which reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. UPR is a unique preferred route which is marked on the basis of wind conditions, aircraft type and the weather.

It is not a pre-defined point-to-point path like other routes but helps achieving the best speed and reduces fuel consumption. Airports in the North Atlantic and Pacific region are already able to use part of their air space for UPR flights. In Asia-Pacific region, Mumbai, Chennai, Colombo and Melbourne air space will be used from October.

The Airports Authority of India has worked with other airports to use satellite data information to handle the UPR flights, said officials. The flights would cruise at an altitude of 28,000-46,000 ft like other aircraft. But unlike others, they will have an independent flight plan instead of a fixed one (which most flights adhere to). Trials for the use of routes in Mumbai's air space were on since June last year and concluded in February. Airlines like Emirates, Singapore Airlines andQatar Airways participated. "Now, it is open to any airline which wants to use this route. Most users would be foreign carriers as Indian carriers are not yet equipped with the technology to use UPR," said A B Joshi, nodal officer of the project in Mumbai.

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