Failure in closure of taxiways delays runway renovation

At a time airlines have started registering a substantial increase in passenger traffic in Mumbai,airport officials claimed that reconstruction of the secondary runway has been delayed for over a month due to failure in closure of taxiways. According to them,the airport’s operator has failed to close down specific taxiways as per schedule for some impending repairs.

The Mumbai airport’s secondary runway has been shut since October 1 and was scheduled to reopen by February 1. Though passenger figures across all airports are increasing,commuters are at the receiving end of delays. In the last five months,the average traffic movements (ATMs) have shot up from 650 to over 700 flights a day.

Officials of MIAL also said rise in traffic also accounted for the delay in the reconstruction of the runway.

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As the secondary runway has been out of action for months,the main runway is forced to manage around 150 more departures everyday.

Owing to this,passengers face constant delays in their journey,especially in the mornings.

While officials of the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said reconstruction of the airport’s secondary runway would be completed by March 11,sources told The Sunday Express that reconstruction work would be completed only in the first week of April.