Lights go off on Mumbai runway

Mumbai: In an alarming incident, the Mumbai airport was plunged into darkness on Sunday night after the all-important lights on its runway went off, suspending operations for about half an hour.
For an international airport, the incident is very rare.
The runway of the Mumbai airport went out of view and the Instrument Landing System (ILS), which helps planes land, could not be used with no lights to aid operations. “No flight was diverted. Those in air had to hold for about 25-30 minutes,’’ said M G Junghare, general manager, aerodrome, Mumbai airport.
It was at 7.21 pm that the Approach Light System, which includes runway edge identifier lights and others like the taxiway lights, went off throwing operations out of gear. The Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL), which runs the sirport, confirmed the incident. A spokesperson said the lights were restored at 7.49 pm. “There was a circuit problem, apparently a problem with a switchboard. The back-up generator could not take the load. The cause is under investigation and is not confirmed as of now,’’ he said.
19/11/07 V Manju/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Nov 2007, Safety Nov 2007