Airlines operating flights from the city face a unique problem during summer months. Known as `load penalty', it means booking seats less than the availability. The `penalty' is aimed at ensuring safe take-off at short runways.
The runway length at city's Jayaprakash Narayan International airport is 7,500 ft, and because of the obstruction in approach funnel here, the airport allows the use of just over 6,300 ft.
The obstructions include the state government secretariat tower on the one side and electrical poles along the railway track on the other side of the approach funnel. The result: pilots have to use extra thrust and high speed for take-offs. And, therefore, the aircraft has to be `light', particularly during summer daytime when mercury levels are high.
Air India books a maximum of 105 passengers on its 140-seater Airbus-320 that operates on the Patna-Delhi route every morning. On the same aircraft operating in the afternoon, only 100 bookings are made. In its evening flight, the A-I has to keep 20 seats vacant in its 145-seat aircraft.
Jet Konnect, which operates a 144-seat Boeing-800 on the route in the afternoon, takes only 89 on board.
Kingfisher's 180-seat Airbus-320 on the route takes in a maximum of 142 during summer months. IndiGo, which operates 180-seat Airbus-320 on three different routes, books a maximum of 165 passengers for each flight taking off from Patna.
Jetlite's CRJ aircraft, which operates on the Patna-Kolkata route, takes in a maximum of 37 passengers against its capacity of 50.
"Flying with empty seats is not a good business proposition, but we have to do it to meet safety norms," a private airline official said and added it hurts all the more because the flow of fliers goes up in view of summer vacation.
Any solutions? "Yes, a new airport with longer runway and an approach funnel sans obstructions is the way out of this problem," an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said and added that for this to happen, the state government would have to expedite the process of allotting land for setting up a new airport at Bihta, as proposed by the AAI.
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