Flyers planning to arrive or depart from Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) next week should be prepared for some delay as the airport operator, Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL), is going to close primary runway 28-10 for repair work for seven days, beginning April 5.
Though the airport has two other runways and DIAL is confident these will be sufficient to handle the air traffic of the country’s busiest airport, air traffic controllers said congestion is inevitable in absence of runway 28-10.
Since late 1950s, runway 28-10 has been the airport’s workhorse, with the oldest runway 27-09 not even operating during night time. Even after the much longer and state-of-the-art runway 29-11 opened in 2009, the old faithful has remained the favourite of airlines. The prime reason for this is its proximity to both the international and domestic terminals, which means aircraft have to taxi a lot less after landing or before take-off, compared to runway 29-11.
“The winter season, which sees heavier air traffic, is over now, but we still expect congestion to occur when runway 28-10 is closed. With three runways operating simultaneously, it is easier to manage IGIA’s heavy traffic even during peak hours, but with only two runways available, we can’t have simultaneous and independent arrivals and departures,” said a senior air traffic control official.
“With three runways, we use one for departures and two for arrivals, which takes care of congestion. Next week, however, flights might have to hover a little longer, waiting to land and holding of departures could also get longer,” he said.
“The repair work is very much necessary and a week’s inconvenience is better than the runway incurring long-term damage,” he added.
To Read the News in Full 02/04/16 Sidhartha Roy/The Hindu
Though the airport has two other runways and DIAL is confident these will be sufficient to handle the air traffic of the country’s busiest airport, air traffic controllers said congestion is inevitable in absence of runway 28-10.
Since late 1950s, runway 28-10 has been the airport’s workhorse, with the oldest runway 27-09 not even operating during night time. Even after the much longer and state-of-the-art runway 29-11 opened in 2009, the old faithful has remained the favourite of airlines. The prime reason for this is its proximity to both the international and domestic terminals, which means aircraft have to taxi a lot less after landing or before take-off, compared to runway 29-11.
“The winter season, which sees heavier air traffic, is over now, but we still expect congestion to occur when runway 28-10 is closed. With three runways operating simultaneously, it is easier to manage IGIA’s heavy traffic even during peak hours, but with only two runways available, we can’t have simultaneous and independent arrivals and departures,” said a senior air traffic control official.
“With three runways, we use one for departures and two for arrivals, which takes care of congestion. Next week, however, flights might have to hover a little longer, waiting to land and holding of departures could also get longer,” he said.
“The repair work is very much necessary and a week’s inconvenience is better than the runway incurring long-term damage,” he added.
To Read the News in Full 02/04/16 Sidhartha Roy/The Hindu
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