To list your Hotel for sale or Hotel for lease for free please
Click Here —-
Do you think your flights from Chennai have of late been taking off without much hold-up in the parking bay and taxiway? Thank the second runway that has been put to good use after a long time. After completing repair work which has been dragging on for many years, now the two runways are put to optimal use, resulting in a 10% increase in landings and take-offs. Technically speaking, now two flights can take off from Chennai airport almost simultaneously. This has brought down the queue of flights waiting for take-off and marginally reduced operational cost of airlines. According to an RTI reply from Airports Authority India, the secondary runway in Chennai handled 952 flights in June — 753 departures and 199 arrivals — including 52 international flights. Between Jan and March, 909 flight movements happened on the secondary runway. In April it rose to 615 and in May, 680 flights used the runway.Airport authorities said teams of air traffic management, management teams and air traffic control, besides flight crew have discussed a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the use of the second runway. This includes the necessary separation between two aircraft when they are ready to take off from the two runways. “Depending on weather, visibility and wind patterns, ATC decides when to resume simultaneous operations on both runways,” an AAI official said. “For instance, in the morning hours, wind conditions permit flight operations on the secondary runway. On some days, the conditions are favourable till 4pm. Flight operations on the secondary runway are mostly restricted to morning hours,” he said. During simultaneous operations, the secondary runway is used only for departures. Smaller aircraft opt for the secondary runway during peak hours as it reduces the airline’s waiting time. “Airlines using the secondary runway save at least 10 minutes of their runway occupancy time (ROT),” said an official. However, even if the air traffic controller declares that the secondary runway is available, it is left to the captain of the flight to decide which runway to use for take-offs and landings, he said. A representative of Air Indigo, to whom Chennai airport is a hub, that operating flights on the secondary runway has been smooth so far. AAI had come under criticism for not effectively using the secondary runway, which can handle narrow-bodied aircraft up to the size of Airbus 321. Earlier, it was used for just two hours on Tuesdays and Saturdays when the main runway was closed for operations or when it was under maintenance. It was also open to coast guard aircrafts and chartered flights. The secondary runway was always used for standby operations due to absence of shorter taxiway from the apron and the main runway and due to issues with landing lights and other technical issues. Now AAI wants to put it for better use and has laid taxiways to link the two runways to make it easily accessible from the aprons.Chennai airport can now handle 36 flight movements (arrivals and departures) in an hour. Airport officials said they are in the process of laying 11 additional rapid exit taxiways from the main runway and the secondary runway for quicker exit for landing aircraft. “When they become operational, the airport can handle 55 aircraft movements in an hour,” an official said. Dayanand Krishnan, who received the RTI reply from AAI, said when Mumbai airport, which is as big as Chennai, can handle 900 flights in a day, Chennai handles only 400 flight a day“Chennai airport now has only nine aerobridges at the domestic terminal and five at the international terminal. It should have more for better operations. The satellite terminal should also be developed fast,” he said.
Published On Aug 22, 2024 at 09:00 PM IST
Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals
Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights & analysis.
Download .App
Get Realtime updates
Save your favourite articles
Scan to download App
To list you hotel to sell or lease for free please Click Here
