Airlines vie for space at crammed airports

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 9

Hundreds of airplanes, grounded due to the suspension of commercial passenger operations, appear to have been jostling for parking space at airports across the country with several of them even being parked on runways and bays near them, officials of the aviation industry said.

Cargo flight

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With the country under a 21-day lockdown amid the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, normal domestic and international commercial flights have been suspended till April 14, though cargo and special flights approved by the aviation regulator DGCA are operating in the Indian airspace.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital is the country’s largest aerodrome and has 194 parking stands, a spokesperson of the aviation facility said.

“All parking stands are used on a daily basis. While all three runways are operational, at present runway 9/27 is closed due to lack of demand,” the spokesperson said.

Industry sources said, so far the airline operators have been able to manage to park their aircrafts. A senior airline functionary said, many hangars are also being used as parking areas.