Indian government looks to tighten capacity through force
3rd January 2012
Cathay Pacific recently emailed its staff regarding an internal investigation conducted by the airline, which showed that there had been recent findings that suggest the airline's pilots have been taxiing at lower speeds when compared to other airlines, causing runway congestion.
The airline has stated that it will overlook any of the previous reports, but in the future, if an aircraft is reported to be taxiing at slower speeds than average, necessary actions will be taken to tackle the issue. This could include disciplinary actions against pilots for taxiing plans at slow speeds for arrival and departures, which could result in potential runway congestion.
Data from Hong Kong International Airport suggests an average taxi speed of 15 to 20 knots can be achieved in most instances while the email states that taxiing can be done at speeds up to 30 knots when condition permits.
While it is imperative that safe separation must be maintained while taxiing, it is also important to keep the taxi times to a minimum to keep the flow moving. Besides it has environmental implications too as taxiing too slowly can causing congestion on the ground and in the air.