Flight operations at Mumbai Airport resumed after 6 hours

Mumbai, October 18

Flight operations at Mumbai Airport resumed after six hours on Tuesday as the facility operator carried out a scheduled day-long post-monsoon maintenance work, which included installation of runway edge lights, among others.

The runway work carried out between 11 am and 5 pm on both runways – 14/32 and 09/27, halting all arrivals and departures during this period.

After six hours of work, the operations were restored back to normal, Mumbai Airport said in a statement.

The exercise is conducted every year after the monsoon to enhance the operational efficiency of the airport, as per the facility operator.

On September 22, Mumbai Airport, which is run under a joint venture company between the Airports Authority of India and Adani Group, had announced that the flight operations at the facility will remain suspended between 11 am and 6 pm on October 18 for runway maintenance work.

Mumbai airport has two intersecting runways, the main runway 9/27 and secondary runway 14/32, which handle around 800 flights per day, making it the second busiest aerodrome after Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Mumbai has exceeded the 400mm-rainfall mark this year, which made the inspection of the runways critical to enhance the safety of the landing and departing aircrafts, as per the statement on Tuesday.

The runway maintenance work included the installation of runway edge lights for runway 14/32, validation of strength of RESA (runway end safety area) on runway 09 intersection in addition to repair works for normal wear and tear, it said.