The Hindu Business Line : Long and short of the new Delhi runway

The new runway at Delhi is 14,534 feet long — the longest in Asia. But there is a catch. The first 4,800 feet are not available for landing because of a statue, which was installed 25 years after the parallel runway concept was initiated.

Hurdles on the runway.

A. Ranganathan

“Swifter, Higher, Stronger” is the Olympic motto. Mohammed Ali, an Olympic champion and one of the greatest heavyweight boxers, said on failing the US army aptitude test in 1964: “I said I was the greatest, not the smartest.” He could live up to his boast because he had pride in his ability.

Pride matters

Asian culture, on the other hand, is based on pride but with humility. French novelist and political commentator Georges Bernanos wrote: “It’s a fine thing to rise above pride, but you must have pride in order to do so.” And there is this well-known quotation: “Arrogance frowns; pride smiles.”

We Indians like to compare and compete with the Chinese. The Chinese have pride and they display that with perfect execution. What they achieved through hard work and pride at the Olympics in Beijing, is there for the world to see. Indians, on the other hand, seem to lack pride but not are not short on arrogance. Some of the recent statements made, especially in aviation, reveal this trait. For instance, at the inauguration of the new runway at Delhi airport the authorities claimed that the runway is the longest in Asia. Physically, yes, but operationally it is probably one of the worst-designed runways.

Every year, a survey is conducted and awards are given for the best ten airports in the world. This time around, the top five in the list has four from Asia — Hong Kong International, Singapore Changi, Seoul Incheon and Kuala Lumpur International. Munich spoilt the Asian party by taking the fifth spot. Kansai International is sixth. And Zurich airport, which partners the Bangalore International Airport project, is eighth. Is there any hope of any of the Indian airports making the cut? How do Indian airports figure in Olympian parlance, which we should modify to ‘Swifter, Higher and Longer’?

Haste makes waste?

The Delhi airport expansion plan was conceived in 1969 by the JRD Tata committee. The third runway was one of the recommendations. This suggestion was unheeded until 1996 when Airports Authority of India pushed for it again. The government took six long years and trashed the project.

The Commonwealth Games in 2011 seems to have given the project a fresh lease of life and the new entrant GMR was given just a few months to formulate the project. It appears that the lack of sufficient time has resulted in overlooking vital issues.

Any structure that comes up in the vicinity of airports requires clearance from the civil aviation authorities. The Tata committee report has been in place since 1969. Yet, in 1994, a 62-feet tall Shiv Murthi statue was installed near the expansion area. Who gave the clearance? While submitting the plan for the new runway, was GMR aware of the statue or did it choose to ignore the same? Was it overlooked because GMR had to be “Swifter”?

Connectivity, safety

The new airports in Bangalore and Hyderabad are claimed to be ‘world class’. To achieve that title, several requirements have to be met. While the runway and the ground facilities of the two airports seem to be of the required standard, they fall short in an important area — rapid connectivity to the city. When one looks at the airports that get selected for the top slots worldwide, the connectivity infrastructure is initiated even when the airport design is in the conceptual stage.

The two airports also fail in a very important safety aspect. While the builders have done a good job as regards construction of the runway and other ancillaries, the Airports Authority of India has erred badly in the installation of the Instrument Landing System Glide Slope in both Bangalore and Hyderabad.

An aircraft coming in to land normally descends on a 3-degree glide slope. Yet , the AAI has installed the glide slope to an angle of 3.30 degree at one airport and 3.40 degrees in the other, forcing the aircraft to descend more steeply than it needs to, that is, at 900-1000 feet per minute. As the structural limit for the landing gear (or the wheels of the aircraft) is only 600 feet per minute, pilots have to shift from the high sink rate to a rate less than 600 feet per minute just before landing with a flare manoeuvre. Any delay, either due to a judgement error or fatigue, can result in a hard landing or a tail strike.

This Glide Slope angle is steeper than the limit of 3.25 degrees set for instrument landing systems Category II or III that are used in poor visibility conditions. By taking the easy option, the Bangalore and Hyderabad airports will allow landings only when the visibility conditions are more than 550 metres.

Catch on the runway

The new runway at Delhi is 14,534 feet long — the longest in Asia. But there is a catch. The first 4,800 feet is not available for landing because of the Shiv Murthi statue, which was installed 25 years after the parallel runway concept was initiated. The longest runway, therefore, gets shortened. The owners of the airport have plans to build four parallel runways by 2050. Are they sure that more statues or high rise buildings will not come up in the vicinity? Will they be able to prevent them when political patronage plays a very large part in infrastructure?

The problem does not end there. To facilitate increased number of aircraft operations, the airport design does provide for high speed exits from the runways. But are they practical? The first high-speed exit on the new runway is just 5,955 feet from the displaced landing threshold. Airplanestouch down 1,500-2,100 feet from the threshold. The distance to the exit is too short, unless harsh braking is performed.

No passenger-carrying airline is going to do that. The next exit is 6,791 feet from the threshold. This again is too short, especially while landing in rain or in foggy conditions. This would mean that pilots would prefer to land on old runway 28.

The airports in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur have 13,000 feet runways, and Hong Kong’s is 12,500 feet. They are all used by fully loaded wide-body aircraft such as A-380, A-340, B-747 and B-777, on long-haul flights. The idea of spending so much money for a 14,500 feet runway that is not going to be used to the optimum beats logic.

(The author is an airline captain with 35 years of flying experience. blfeedback@thehindu.co.in)

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