Separate runways for terminals

New Delhi: To save fuel and taxiing time, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), in coordination with the air traffic control (ATC), plans to use separate runways for the various terminals. The decision was taken after several airlines complained of fuel wastage because of longer taxiing to get to the runways assigned to flights.
For flights operating from Terminal 3 (T3), the nearest runway is 29-11, which was commissioned in 2008. So, for these, most advantageous take-off and landing would be at this runway. Similarly airlines at Terminal 1 (T1) will use runways 1 or 2 (9-27 or 10-28).
At present, the airlines, which operate from T1, said they burnt more fuel in taking aircraft to the taxiway after landing at runway 29-11.
Also, after landing at runway 29-11, aircraft had to cross an active runway to reach the T1 building. There were times when a pilot had to wait over 15 minutes to cross runway 2, as they require ATC permission for it, said a source.
According to the DIAL, these changes would be put into place after Air India, Kingfisher and Jet Airways shift their operations to T3 by November 14. After that, only low-cost carriers such as Indigo, Spicejet and Go Air would use T1. These low-cost carriers will use runway 1 and 2 to save fuel and time.
08/11/10 Faizan Haider/Hindustan Times

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Categories: Airports Nov 2010