Get set for more delays at IGI

New Delhi: After experiencing several delays, the new runway at Delhi's IGI airport is now likely to be opened on September 25. However, this is only going to lead to another long series of delays, this time affecting the reduction in the distance maintained between two aircraft which has become necessary for effective handling of congestion over Delhi.
According to sources, officials would require about a month's time to assess the working of the new runway and see how much time an aircraft would take to vacate the airstrip before the new separation minima can be implemented. However, with winter round the corner, it will not be possible to implement the new procedures during the fog period.
At present, the separation minima is about 5 nautical miles which is set to be reduced to about 3 nautical miles. This will go a long way in reducing congestion by allowing more landings per hour. Delhi handles around 35-40 flight movements every hour which comes to around 680 per day. With the new runway in use and the reduced distance between aircraft, flight movements could go up to even 70 per hour. Mumbai, on the other hand, handles about 720 flights per day.
19/09/08 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Sep 2008