The Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA) seems to have finally woken up to the problem and is taking steps to address the situation that not only cuts down on flight time but also reduces fuel consumption, thereby cutting down on carbon emission.

That is a matter that the international community is increasingly worried about. Globally, the aviation industry emits 670 million tonne of carbon per annum or 2% of the total emission as per a report in TOI by Suhbro Niyogi

"The Indian aviation industry has to adopt Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) to solve the gridlock in Mumbai and Delhi. A system should be in place within the next 12-18 months," Airports Authority of India general manager (air traffic management) Chandan Sen told TOI. There are two primary contenders for delivering the software that will integrate all the information-American NextGen and European SESAR.

"Once the system is in place, flight-related information will flow seamlessly across all stakeholders. There is requirement of collaborative decision-making between air traffic, airport managers and airlines to enable the system to function properly. After all the relevant information is fed into the system, it can determine what time passengers on a Kolkata-Mumbai flight should board the aircraft so that there is least amount of waiting time both for takeoff in Kolkata and for landing in Mumbai," Sen explained. This can lead to an annual saving of 6 million kg of ATF costing around Rs 40 crore and reduce carbon emission by 18 million kg.

Till now, the focus has been on timely departure of flights irrespective of the delays that may occur on reaching the destination. Airlines, too, are busy completing boarding formalities at the earliest to shut the gates and maintain on-time performance. In the cockpit, pilots wait impatiently to taxi to the runway for takeoff. That the aircraft gets held up prior to takeoff and landing, leading to fuel waste and damage to environment, is not high on anyone's priority list now.

"What the ATFM will bring about is an attitudinal change. It will ensure that there is more efficiency driven into the system. Less fuel waste will mean better operation. Passengers too will have to learn to wait for flights to be announced beyond the departure hour. They will have to realize that it is better waiting in the lounge than sitting longer in the aircraft," said AAI regional executive director (RED) Gautam Mukherjee.