No night flights to Amritsar from Feb 15

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 16

The airport will be closed for flights from February 15 to December 31 from 8 pm to 6 am for re-carpeting of the runway and other allied works. The project is worth Rs 103 crore.

The exercise is due for a long time and will make the international airport fit to accommodate all big aircraft being used across the world.

Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport Director Venkateshwar Rao said the tendering process for the works was already over and the advisory board of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) at Delhi will take a final call on the matter.

Civil work for the re-carpeting of over 12,000 feet long runway would commence on February 15 and will conclude on December 31. During this period all flight operations would be closed.

The managements of all airlines operating from the airport at night have been asked to reschedule their operations to avoid any inconvenience to the passengers.

The existing runway, which can cater to the largest aircraft available with the airlines operating in India, had starting showing signs of aging and developed cracks at a few places. The last re-carpeting was carried out in 2001-03.

The plan includes strengthening of the flexible portion of the runway. AAI has also planned to have a provision of a glass grid to check reflection cracks and rectification and repairing of the existing surface and joints alongwith overlaying of existing runway shoulders and resurfacing of blast pads.

Grading of the basic strip of the runway will also be done as per the DGCA requirements. To provide a better view of the runway to the pilots, runway markings would be repainted.

The available pavement of taxiways shall also be strengthened to match the strength of the main runway. Similarly, the electrical installations at runway will also be a part of the exercise.

“All inset type runway light fittings at shallow base for the runways centre line, runway end light, inset type runway edge lights, turning pad light, including existing elevated type runway edge lights will be dismantled and reinstalled. The translocation of the Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI), a visual aid to the pilots, also being planned to provide safe and better navigation facilities at the airport,” he said.