Delhi airport to shut runway for 90 days from June 15. Flights to be delayed again?
The government is preparing to close one of the four runways at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in mid-June and will hold a meeting with airlines and stakeholders to discuss the plan.The move is aimed at avoiding the missteps of April, when the same runway was closed but had to be reopened within weeks after the airport buckled under pressure from a near-full schedule on only three operational runways. The Indira Gandhi International Airport handles around 1,400 flight movements daily.advertisementA DIAL official informed Indiatoday.in that runway 28/10 is the oldest runway at Delhi Airport and is slated for major upgrades, including a new CAT III B Instrument Landing System (ILS) and an extended lighting system, measures designed to support safer landings during Delhi's notorious fog season.
However, an earlier attempt to carry out the same work in April was aborted just a few days into the closure due to mounting delays and flight diversions, which were a result of the early onset of easterly winds this year.The official also informed that it was decided that the June-to-September window is more conducive for the work, as it coincides with a relatively lean travel period and a seasonal wind shift that typically allows for better runway usage.It can be said that April's fiasco highlighted the absence of a binding regulatory mechanism to enforce schedule reductions during infrastructure work. In the meeting, the airlines are likely to be instructed to formulate plans and schedules to avoid a repeat of chaos.According to the latest plans, Runway 28/10 is expected to reopen after 90 days, by mid-September, fully upgraded and capable of handling low-visibility operations from both ends, easing winter fog-related disruptions in the coming seasons.Must Watch
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