MANGALORE: As a precursor to the formal commissioning of the new runway at the Bajpe airport, all aircraft will land and take off on the new runway from Wednesday, according to sources in the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Sources told The Hindu on Tuesday that the new runway, which is the second at the airport, would be formally commissioned later. The new runway is 2,450 metres long and 46 metres wide. It is the first complete concrete runway in the State. It can handle the operation of large aircraft such as Airbus 319 and Airbus 320.

At present, Bajpe airport handles six flight schedules a day (one way). The number of daily flight operations (landing and take off) is 12. All these flights will operate from the new runway from Wednesday. Of the six flight schedules, two are for Bangalore and four are for Mumbai.

As per the schedule of daily flights at the airport, the first flight from Bangalore (Jet Airways 9W520/519) will be the first flight to land on the new runway at 10 a.m. and take off at 10.35 a.m. if there is no delay in its arrival.

The AAI had deposited Rs. 50 lakh with the State Government in March 1989 to hand over 186 acres of land for building the new runway. The Government handed over land only in September 2003. The AAI began work on the new runway in April 2004. Rains between June and August that year forced the AAI to suspend the work. The AAI completed the concreting of the new runway on January 12 this year. The remaining work was completed in March. The night landing equipment has been installed on the new runway.

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