Calcutta airport's main runway is going for a long overdue overhaul from Friday after testing pilots' nerves for years, especially during take-off when maintaining the required speed to become airborne on an uneven surface is a skill no flying school teaches.
This will be the first overhaul of the primary runway in 12 years, a gap that aviation experts see as stretching critical passenger safety requirements.
According to a veteran pilot who has been challenged by the bumpy runway on multiple occasions, an Airbus 320 needs to achieve a speed of about 270kmph during take-off. "A pilot has to constantly monitor the speed indicator and the nose wheel has to go up as soon as the optimum speed is achieved. When you also need to watch out for undulations on a runway at the same time, it distracts from standard take-off procedures," he said.
Pilots have often complained about the surface of the main runway peeling off and the risk of a concrete fragment getting into the engine. But resurfacing of the runway, due since 2011, has been postponed at least thrice in three years because of red tape.
The last time a date had been fixed, the directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA) kept the airport waiting for technical clearance. The green signal came only last week, based on which all airlines operating from the city were informed that resurfacing would start on February 26. The Category III-B Instrument Landing System approved for Calcutta would be installed simultaneously, officials said.
Back in 2013-14, the resurfacing plan had been postponed apparently because of a budget roadblock. The battered runway was then made usuble with some patchwork, just as many broken Calcutta roads are hurriedly repaired at the end of monsoon.
24/02/16 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph
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This will be the first overhaul of the primary runway in 12 years, a gap that aviation experts see as stretching critical passenger safety requirements.
According to a veteran pilot who has been challenged by the bumpy runway on multiple occasions, an Airbus 320 needs to achieve a speed of about 270kmph during take-off. "A pilot has to constantly monitor the speed indicator and the nose wheel has to go up as soon as the optimum speed is achieved. When you also need to watch out for undulations on a runway at the same time, it distracts from standard take-off procedures," he said.
Pilots have often complained about the surface of the main runway peeling off and the risk of a concrete fragment getting into the engine. But resurfacing of the runway, due since 2011, has been postponed at least thrice in three years because of red tape.
The last time a date had been fixed, the directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA) kept the airport waiting for technical clearance. The green signal came only last week, based on which all airlines operating from the city were informed that resurfacing would start on February 26. The Category III-B Instrument Landing System approved for Calcutta would be installed simultaneously, officials said.
Back in 2013-14, the resurfacing plan had been postponed apparently because of a budget roadblock. The battered runway was then made usuble with some patchwork, just as many broken Calcutta roads are hurriedly repaired at the end of monsoon.
24/02/16 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph
