BackMumbai airport runway repairs could hit operations
Mumbai airport runway repairs could hit operations
PremiumWear and tear: Aircraft parked at Mumbai airport. Hemant Mishra / Mint
Mumbai: The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, run by GVK Group’s Mumbai International Airport Ltd (Mial), would stop operations for a short time next year to complete repair work at the intersection of its two runways, a top executive said on Tuesday.
Only one of the runways is fully functional and the other is put to use when the airport handles peak traffic.
Other Indian airports, especially those with single runways, have in the past shut down operations for repair or maintenance.
Pune airport was closed for two weeks in February 2007 for runway maintenance and Kochi airport was partially closed in November last year for recarpeting the runway.
Though Mial is carrying out repairs without interrupting flights, it will be forced to close the runways when it reaches the intersection.
It has also decided against a parallel runway because of land constraints. “We have carried out cost-benefit analysis and found that the result is totally negative," said Reddy.
He said he was hopeful that the upgrading would help the airport handle a targeted 40 million passengers annually by 2013
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