Prepare for traffic jam on IGI runway this summer

New Delhi: After the Delhi High Court offered a breather to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport authorities earlier this week by lifting the ban on use of the new runway (29-11) at night, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to take up re-carpeting work on the airport’s main runway, 28-10.
The re-carpeting has been due for the last 15 years.
With runway 28-10 shut for operations from April 8 to September 20, passengers using the country’s busiest airport over the next six months will have to sit for long hours inside a hovering or taxiing aircraft.
Since the two operational runways for the next six months, 27-09 and 29-11, are not parallel, they would not be used independently — they will be used in what officials call the ‘dependent mode’.
“In the dependant mode, permission for take-off will not be granted unless an approaching aircraft touches ground,” a senior Civil Aviation ministry official said. “This is because the two operational runways converge at a point, and it will be dangerous if an approaching aircraft is to abort landing at the last minute.”
This, the officials say, would result in flights having to hover over Delhi for much longer periods till the main runway is available.
13/05/09 Geeta Gupta/Indian Express

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Mar 2010