In 2024, India’s aviation industry and the broader infrastructure sector faced new challenges, with extreme heat waves causing an increase in Aircraft on Ground (AOG) situations, leading to numerous flight cancellations. Major construction companies were adapting their labour management practices to keep projects on schedule. Earlier in the year, a major Indian airline had to cancel flights from Leh airport, which is situated about 3,500 metres above sea level.
An executive in charge of engineering operations at an Indian airline stated that although the weather was clear and the skies were blue, the temperatures were excessively high. He explained that at high altitudes, aircraft engines cannot produce the necessary thrust for lift beyond a specific temperature threshold, which is 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 Fahrenheit) in Leh. As higher-altitude regions like Ladakh continue to warm, flight operations in such thinner air conditions will face increasing challenges.
A spokesperson from Airbus commented that as temperatures rise, the air becomes thinner, affecting lift. He noted that modern aircraft are designed to function in temperatures ranging from around -70 degrees Fahrenheit in-flight to +130 degrees Fahrenheit on the ground. He further explained that higher ground temperatures lead to thinner air, necessitating greater speed for takeoff and often requiring aircraft to be lighter by offloading cargo. The AOG situation leading to flight cancellations typically results from technical, infrastructural, or adverse weather conditions, with extreme heat conditions due to climate change being a new factor. A pilot from a major Indian airline remarked that aircraft engine performance is adversely affected by higher temperatures at high altitudes, making it a critical factor contributing to AOG situations and causing inconvenience for passengers. Prolonged AOG conditions can even lead to airlines halting operations. For instance, Go First ceased flight operations in May 2023 due to an AOG situation stemming from performance issues with Pratt & Whitney engines, while IndiGo grounded around 70 of its aircraft. In the construction sector, as India undergoes significant transformation with numerous mega projects underway, managing labour utilisation in such harsh conditions has become a new reality. For major Indian engineering and construction firms, quarterly financial performance has been impacted by extreme heat conditions. P. Ramakrishnan, Head of Investor Relations at Larsen & Toubro Ltd, noted in a conference call with analysts in July that the conditions in Q2 (July-September) were significantly better than those in Q1 (April-June). He explained that Q1 faced dual challenges: a labour shortage due to elections and extreme heat, although efforts were made to mitigate the impact by scheduling shifts early in the morning and late in the afternoon. However, he acknowledged that this approach could not sustain full productivity for a continuous 8 or 9-hour workday at construction sites. He expressed hope that Q2 would show improvement and that the latter half of the year would contribute significantly to domestic growth.
While the airline industry faces constraints in engine performance due to the principles of physics—where hot temperatures and thinner air limit aircraft lift—the aircraft bodies are designed to withstand high temperatures.
