Flight Delays Mount at Pune Airport Amid Infrastructure Bottlenecks

Pune, 12th May 2025: Pune International Airport, one of India’s top 10 busiest terminals, is grappling with persistent delays as infrastructure struggles to keep pace with rising air traffic. Serving nearly 30,000 passengers daily and handling close to 200 aircraft movements, the airport has seen over 12,000 flight delays for the second consecutive financial year, official data shows.

In 2024–25, the airport recorded 12,261 instances of delayed flights — a slight increase from 12,086 in the previous year. These include 5,982 late arrivals and 6,279 departures that failed to take off as scheduled.

Delays range from minor hiccups of 10–15 minutes to severe hold-ups extending over 10 hours. A representative of a major airline, requesting anonymity, pointed to a key cause: “The airport has only 10 parking bays, which simply isn’t enough for current traffic levels. While airlines have their share of responsibility, infrastructure limitations are a major factor.”

Aviation officials acknowledge the strain. With an increase in daily aircraft movements, industry experts estimate that at least eight additional parking bays are urgently needed. “When all bays are occupied, incoming flights are forced into holding patterns, which compounds delays,” said a senior official from another airline.
Some delays have made headlines. Last week, an Air India Express flight to Kolkata, with a layover in Bhubaneswar, was held back for nearly 18 hours. In April, SpiceJet passengers on a Pune-Delhi flight remained stranded inside the plane for two hours. That same month, 13 Indigo flights were delayed due to a fault in the airport’s digital baggage screening system.

Air India Express responded to inquiries with a brief statement, saying the 18-hour delay was the result of a “cascade of uncontrollable factors,” but did not provide specific details.

Airport authorities maintain that improvements are underway. Pune Airport Director Santosh Dhoke recently stated that regular coordination meetings with airlines are being conducted to address operational challenges. Authorities are also counting on a long-awaited land transfer to improve capacity.
An airport official revealed that a proposal to acquire 13 acres from the Indian Air Force (IAF), which shares space with the civilian terminal, is nearing completion. “We’re constructing new office buildings for the IAF on an alternate site. Once that’s done, they’ll transfer the land needed for five additional parking bays and three remote bays,” the official said.

The issue of “bunching” — when multiple flights are delayed and overlap with scheduled arrivals — has emerged as a frequent problem. “Between 10 pm and 2 am, we experience a surge in operations. If just a few flights are late, it disrupts the entire sequence,” the official added.
As Pune’s air traffic continues to grow, passengers and airlines alike are hoping promised upgrades arrive before frustration reaches cruising altitude.