Blocked: India’s longest runway

New Delhi: The longest runway of the country at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport might not become fully functional till November, and this delay has triggered a blame game between the Delhi International Airport (Pvt) Ltd (DIAL) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
On September 25, the new runway, which is being used for 12 hours every day, was rolled out for commercial air traffic. In order to decongest Delhi airspace, the DIAL has pumped Rs1,000 crore to build the 4,430 meters long runway.
The DIAL is responsible for the installation of lighting system for the new runway, while the AAI is responsible for the installation of air navigation equipment such as surface movement radar on the new runway.
But the shoddy work by the two agencies has worsened the situation. The new runway, airport sources said, is fraught with faulty lighting systems and absence of surface movement radar.
“Firstly, the runway had erratic lighting system, secondly the surface movement radar is not yet installed and these factors make it is impossible for the new runway to be used to its full capacity till November,” said a senior aviation ministry source.
Because of the tardy pace with which the DIAL and AAI are working, the sources said, the runway would not be fully functional till November end.
14/10/08 Yogesh Kumar/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Oct 2008