4,430-metre runway opens for trial runs at Delhi international airport

New Delhi: With the landing of an Air India Boeing 777-300 (extended range), the third runway, 4,430 metres long, of the Indira Gandhi International Airport here — among the longest in Asia — opened for trial runs on Thursday morning.
The aircraft, with the pilot and cabin crew on board the inaugural flight, first performed a low flypast without landing and returned 10 minutes later.
The runway has been built by the Delhi International Airport Limited, a GMR group-led joint venture consortium mandated to operate and modernise the airport. The aircraft was given the traditional water cannon salute by fire tenders of the airport fire service.
However, the presence of a dog on the new runway just moments before the maiden flight landed and of birds after the landing gave anxious moments to DIAL and Civil Aviation Ministry officials.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who received the aircraft, told journalists that the new runway would be ready for commercial operations next month.
Completed more than six months ahead of schedule, the runway is equipped with the CAT IIIB Instrument Landing System at both ends allowing compatible aircraft to land even when visibility is as low as 50 metres.
22/08/08 The Hindu

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Categories: Airports Aug 2008