With the monsoon around the corner in Maharashtra, flooding will not be a problem at the Mumbai airport, say Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) officials. And this is because the refurbishment of Runway 27 will be commissioned from June 1.

“We have raised the height of the runway by one metre which will ensure there is no flooding during the monsoons,” said Mr Connie Muller, MIAL's Head, Airside Operations.

He added that work has also been carried out to widen the drainage system to ensure that the runway does not get flooded.

In 2005, when the city was flooded due to a cloud-burst and the Mithi River started to overflow, the Mumbai airport had to be shut for two days as the runway was flooded as well.

Smoother Landing

Mr Muller added that the curves in the runway have also been flattened. The refurbishment work also included the construction of a taxiway at the end of the runway.

This would help in aircraft exiting the runway smoothly after landing and without having to apply the breaks too hard, even if they miss the first taxiway.

“Most aircraft exit the runway through taxiways that existed before the newly inaugurated taxiway. However, during monsoon, if an aircraft takes a longer route to land and misses a taxiway, it won't have to take a circuitous path now. It can take the new taxiway and vacate,” Mr Muller said.

MIAL has also added emergency roads parallel to the main runway so that services can be provided smoothly and efficiently to aircraft in case of an emergency.

Runway can handle A-380 now

The width of the runway has also been increased to 60 metres from 45 metres. This will now allow the runway to handle the super-jumbo jet Airbus A-380.

“The widening of the runway will allow the airport to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft like Airbus 380,” said Mr Muller.

This comes as good news for airlines like Lufthansa, Emirates, Qantas and Singapore Airlines which have been waiting to launch the A380 on Indian routes.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW