New taxiway mooted to ease Coimbatore airport congestion

Coimbatore: The local unit of the Airports Authority of India has put forward a proposal for a Rs. 30-crore parallel taxiway to ease peak-hour runway congestion. There was a steep growth in passenger and aircraft movement during 2006-07. Two more airlines have expressed an interest to operate from Coimbatore.
Airport Director K. Hemalatha told The Hindu that a parallel taxiway would solve the problem of peak-hour runway congestion. Once a flight touches down, it takes 10 to 12 minutes to taxi its way to the apron and to come to a "full stop halt."
During this time, another landing or takeoff is not possible. With a parallel taxiway, on touching down the aircraft could leave the runway free for a waiting aircraft. There are seven parking bays available. With a parallel taxiway, pilots need not hover over Coimbatore.
The number of passengers increased to 8.9 lakh during 2006-07 from 5.74 lakh in 2005-06: a growth of over 56 per cent. Similarly, aircraft movement increased from 9,311 in 2005-06 to 12,750 in 2006-07. The number of landings and take-offs has touched 56 a day. Thanks to the entry of a number of low-cost, no-frills airliners, aircraft and passenger movement has grown.
24/04/07 V.S. Palaniappan/The Hindu

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Categories: Airports Apr 2007, New Apr 2007