Landing in trouble

Mumbai: With the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport recording as many as 742 movements a day against its safe-sanctioned capacity of a mere 500, MiD DAY set out to find exactly how hard you need to pray for your aircraft to land safely in the city.
There was a total blackout at the Mumbai airport between 5.15 am and 5.25 am on Tuesday. Speaking to
MiD DAY, a senior official from the Mumbai Air Traffic Control, on condition of anonymity, said "Yes, there was no power supply for some time, which caused a complete shutdown in operations. There was no aircraft movement during this period as the equipment was not functioning. Many flights were delayed and a few flights had to be diverted."
Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson Manish Kalghatgi, however, rubbished the report. "There was no disruption of power supply at the airport and there were no diversions on Tuesday morning," he said.
According to the ATC, while the number of aircraft taking off and landing in Mumbai has gone up tremendously, the airport's capacity remains the same. This not only causes delays, it also poses a serious danger as the time difference between two aircraft landing or taking off is decreased.
17/06/10 Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY

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Categories: Airports Jun 2010, Safety Jun 2010