The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Main runway at Chennai airport to remain partially closed for repair

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Friday, Feb 22, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Main runway at Chennai airport to remain partially closed for repair

Ananth Krishnan

CHENNAI: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will close the main runway at the Chennai airport for a few hours every day to carry out much needed repair.

With increased rubber deposits on the runway, the friction co-efficient of the surface has fallen below acceptable standards. The co-efficient reflects the ability of the surface to allow an aircraft’s braking action. It is of particular importance in times of rain, when runways are slippery.

“The runway friction levels have gone down,” an airport official said. “There are rubber deposits on the runway that have to be removed. They can cause problems when runways are wet.”

The runway will be closed between 1.30 p.m. and 6 p.m. until February 29. From March 1, it will be closed from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Airlines were issued a notification this week to reschedule their operations around this time to minimise disruptions.

While the cross-runway, which came into operation in December, will bear some of the burden, it lacks the capacity to carry the full load of flights. Wide-bodied aircraft cannot land on the cross-runway, which is more than 1,500 metres shorter than the main runway.

According to a senior pilot, rubber deposits are usually cleaned every six months, when friction tests are conducted. He claimed that the frequency of tests had been reduced to once a year.

As the period from January to April is traditionally the lean season for air travel, maintenance works have begun in airports around the country. The AAI took the unprecedented step of shutting down the Pune airport this month for repair works — all 28 flights out of that airport have been temporarily cancelled.

While the on-going maintenance work will no doubt improve friction levels, there are still concerns regarding the accuracy of friction-testing practices followed in airports around the country.

At a recent workshop conducted by the Airports Authority of India, discrepancies between Indian practices and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)-mandated standards came to the fore. For instance, inspectors from several national airports revealed that it was a common practice to use grooved tyres for tests.

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