Aiming ‘net zero carbon emissions by 2029’ for Mumbai Airport: Gautam Adani – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India’s second busiest airport — Mumbai’s CSMIA — plans to reach “net zero carbon emissions” before the end of this decade. Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani on Saturday said on social media: “We proudly operate (CSMIA) on 100% green energy, making us an entirely sustainable airport. Moreover, we are third in Asia Pacific to reach Level 4+ ‘Transition’ of ACA Program of ACI, aligning our CO2 management with global climate objectives.Our next goal? Net ZeroCarbon Emissions by 2029!”
Mumbai has among the busiest single runway airport as only of its set of cross runways can be used at a time. The billionaire businessman added on X (former Twitter): “Adani’s Mumbai Airport is redefining excellence in aviation! It’s now the best in Asia Pacific for Services according to ASQ, in the 40 million plus passenger category. With a remarkable feat of handling 1,032 flights in a single day on one runway, we are also leading in sustainability.”
On November 11, 2023, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) had seen 1,032 air traffic movements (ATMs) beating the previous high of 1,004 ATMs of December 9, 2018.
CSMIA currently handles 46 ATMs per hour on an average, making it the busiest single runway airport along with London Gatwick. Since it has a set of cross runways, only one can be used at a time making it effectively a single runway airport.
Both the busiest single runway airports — CSMIA and London Gatwick — are working on increasing capacity.
Gatwick’s VP (aviation development) Stephanie Wear has earlier this year told TOI: “We are investing a lot on our terminals. We are going to become a twin-runway airport by 2030 by widening an existing runway and then increasing the distance between its central line and a big taxiway, both of which will then be used for aircraft movement. Once that happens, we will be able to handle 75-80 flight movements an hour, up from current peak of 55.”
Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) plans to increase the hourly capacity by 10% by using AI-ML. It has initiated a project that involves making changes on the airside to streamline taxiing of aircraft between runway and terminal from the current zigzag route they have to take. Clearances pilots are required to take from air traffic control (ATC) are planned to be reduced to a seamless “follow the green” — where the former will follow the centre lights of the runway — to speed up movement and reduce chances of error, senior MIAL officials had told TOI recently.
The big boost in Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s air traffic capacity will come by end of next year when the Navi Mumbai Airport opens.