Hoardings near airport threaten to ground Mumbai's only non-stop cheap flight to US

cheap-flight-4u to USA

Mumbai may lose its only non-stop cheap flight to United State for the silliest reason: billboards near the airport. Air India has complained to aviation and Maharashtra authorities that it is forced to carry only 260 passengers in the Boeing 777 deployed on the Mumbai-Newark sector. The reason: billboards near the airport come in the path of the aircraft, forcing it to fly light to allow it take off in a way that it can steer clear of this hurdle.

T.O.I. had reported on May 1 but it have come to such a pass now that Air India is threatening to cancel this cheap flight the only non-stop US connection from Mumbai  unless these hurdles go. "There used to be five billboards. Four were removed after we complained as but there is reportedly a court case involving the fifth one. Now, two billboards have reappeared, putting such a severe load penalty that we are forced to carry 80 seats empty," said a top Air India official.

Airline has complained to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, terming these billboards a "serious safety risk". "We have repeatedly taken this issue up with the Mumbai civic authorities. We are now planning to write to the state government. If nothing works, this flight will have to be scrapped," said the official.

Air India's Mumbai Newark flight is the longest non-stop cheap flight out of Mumbai as well as the longest cheap-flight-4u of the airline overall. The aircraft goes almost fully loaded with fuel for the nearly 16 hour journey. When a fully loaded Boeing 777-300, takes off, especially in summer, the lift-off happens relatively slowly compared to lighter planes. The billboards have undone what the B-777 300 ER did for Air India Earlier, the airline operated the fuel-guzzling B-777 200 Long Range version on this route. But this plane used up so much fuel that the cheap flight never made money. Air Iinda decided to sell off its 200 LR versions of the Boeing 777. It then deployed the thriftier 300 ER on the route.