AAI plans to shut Juhu runway to help builders

Mumbai: The secondary runway at Juhu airport will be closed down if a group of officials in the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the ministry of civil aviation have their way. The plan is audacious because it will render the airport useless at times when the main runway of Chhatrapati Shivaji International (CSI) Airport becomes unoperational. Sources said the development is the product of collusion between aviation officials and influential builders.
Juhu airport includes the country's busiest heliport for offshore operations. It is closed at night, but handles 60-70 landings and takeoffs by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft between sunrise and sunset. "Thus, even a day's closure would mean huge losses to oil companies, most of all to ONGC, which is the biggest user of the airport," said a helicopter pilot. "If the secondary runway is decommissioned, Juhu airport's fate will entirely depend on which runway is in use at CSI owing to approach paths of aircraft."
03/09/12 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: airports Sep 2012