India's Mumbai International Airport achieved a mind-boggling efficiency milestone over the weekend.
Handling a whopping 969 flights during a 24-hour stretch Friday into Saturday, the world record is the highest for single-runway operations and shattered the airport's previous best of 935 according to the Times of India.
Though the airport features two runways, they intersect-meaning that only one can be used at a time.
An influx of private and chartered flights helped propel the airport to the impressive mark. The airport routinely operates more than 900 flights in a given day, and a Mumbai International Airport Ltd. spokesperson told the Times that airport officials have their sights set on 1,000 in the near future.
A senior air traffic controller at Mumbai said the airport has had stretches of handling 10 takeoffs or landings in just 10 minutes. That pace maintained over 24 hours would equate to 1,440 flights. Weather conditions, aircraft type and a slew of other factors would need to be ideal though.
"Gatwick is the only single-runway airport in the world that routinely handles more than 50 flight movements in a given hour. All others are 42 or less. Mumbai has the second highest as it crosses 50," global aviation consultant, Kapil Kaul told the Times.
Bloomberg notes that the Indian aviation market is in the midst of a surge as a result of rising incomes and more affordable airfares being offered by low-cost carriers in the region. Citing the International Air Transport Association, the publication reported the growing market will add approximately 337 million additional passengers over the next two decades.
Indian airlines transported 100 million domestic passengers last year, up from about 70 million two years prior.
The Indian government has also been working to develop and expand infrastructure so the country can support the dramatic rise in air travel. Expanding Mumbai Airport could prove tricky, however, as a lack of land prevents officials from constructing a new runway.
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