Indore's Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport will remain closed for night operation as the runway is going to be repaired starting February 2025, according to a News 18 report on Saturday, September 7.
The Airport Authority of India (AAI) will spend ₹25.27 crore on runway repairs as the condition of the runway is not good, according to the news report quoting a tender order.
The repair plans involve removing the runway surface and replacing it with a new layer, similar to the process of laying an asphalt road. This is also known as re-carpeting, as per the report.
The flight operations from the airport will remain shut from late at night to the next morning for a year, according to the report. The airlines and passengers have to face trouble for a short while, said the news portal in its report.
The runway's last resurfacing work was in 2017, but the report states that due to deteriorating conditions caused by continuous flight operations, the work needs to be undertaken again. While the minor repairs are carried out throughout the year, the full resurfacing will take nearly one year to complete, according to the report.
The current runway is 2,750 metres or 2.75 kilometres long, and during the resurfacing, the entirety of the runway will be replaced with a new top layer, with four to five-inch thickness, after which the signs and lighting will be installed, as per the news report.
The repair work will be done from midnight to 6 a.m. as it is a fully operational airport, so the night flight operations (late-night and early-morning flights) will be suspended during that time, and the existing flight will have to be rescheduled. The tender offer is set for October 1, and the work is scheduled to start from February 2025, according to the report.
According to the report, airline operator Indigo is likely to be affected as the company operates flights to Bangalore, Pune, and early-morning services to Mumbai and Ahmedabad during the repair hours. The flights may have to be rescheduled in the upcoming winter, said the news report.
