Now Indian airports operate 24 hrs

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Airports at major metros are becoming operational 24 hours with more daylight flights being introduced by global carriers following the government's insistence to this effect.

The efforts by the Civil Aviation Ministry in this direction have now started bearing fruit as most of the global airlines operating to the country are adding new day-time services, official sources said.

Earlier, most of the international flights used to operate at night.

India, a member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), had moved a paper in the UN body almost two years ago suggesting that the night curfew at many European and US airports should be done away with.

Government's basic contention was that this practice of the western nations was unfair to airlines and travellers from the developing world, especially those in the east.

India's move received a lot of support, especially from several Asian nations, sources said. The Civil Aviation Ministry also took a firm stand at the global fora stating that the Indian carriers should not be restricted from operating flights from western airports during night, which land here during the day.

The night curfew in the western airports also implied that flights could not depart from India in the afternoon or evening, sources said.

The aviation authorities in the west were asked to consider the consequences of India closing down its airports at night due to concerns of noise and pollution, they added.

The move was also aimed at de-congesting the major airports, particularly those in Mumbai and Delhi which used to handle most of the international traffic at that time.

Following this initiative, the government started insisting that global carriers, if they were already operating at night in India and wished to add new flights, would have to time their arrivals and departures during day.

Post liberalisation of the bilateral air traffic agreements and virtual 'open sky' treaties with several countries, including the US, UK and Europe, as also those in the Gulf and Southeast Asia, most major global carriers started introducing day flights to and from India.

Now for the past two-three years, the agreements have also been specifying that most of the new flights should have their time-slots during the day.

Premier British carrier Virgin Atlantic was the first to introduce day-light flights out of Delhi. British Airways also introduced its additional flight during daytime.

German carrier Lufthansa now also operates day time flights to Munich out of Delhi and Mumbai, apart from its night services to Frankfurt.

Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways have also launched new morning flights out of Delhi, while Cathay Pacific, which now operates two flights, has one each in morning and evening.