AIRPORT RUNWAYS TO BE LINKED

Interlinking To Help Clear Taxiways Faster And Prevent Hold-Up Of Flights In Air
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning three linkways connecting the main and secondary runways and the introduction of more parking bays for efficient handling of aircraft. The works are expected to start in April. The proposed linkways and parking bays are part of the ongoing airport expansion project and will be taken up in three phases over the next four months. Sixty-seven parking bays, between the main and secondary runways, are planned. These are expected to help the airport in better onground and on-air handling of aircraft when cross-runway operations are introduced after the secondary runway is extended across the Adyar river next year.

The three linkways will be connected to the main runway at three places — near the cargo terminal where the secondary runway and the main one intersect, near the delta taxiway, and near the echo taxiway that is almost in the middle of the runway. These linkways have been planned with a dual purpose — faster vacation of runway after landing and to facilitate future cross-runway operations. “The works will start next month at the intersecting point. The linkways will be built in phases so that a large part of the main runway can be used for aircraft movement during daytime.

We have decided to restrict use of the runway between 10 am and 5 pm because people will be working 150 metres away from the centre line of the main runway,” said airport director K Natarajan. He said 2,085 metres of the 3,680-metre main runway would be available for use during the construction of the first two linkways. The main runway will be completely shut between 10 am and 5 pm for two months, probably from May, when work on the third linkway is taken up. “The linkways will help a landing aircraft quickly vacate the runway and leave it open for more landings and takeoffs. This will substantially increase the aircraft-handling capacity of the airport in the long run.

These linkways will also act as angular exit taxiways for aircraft landing on the main runway.” A senior official said the network of linkways would also reduce the separation allotted between each aircraft on-air. “Now, we have to allot 16 to 18 miles. This can be reduced to 10 or even five miles if aircraft are able to vacate the runways immediately.”

IN A NUTSHELL Why:

The project is expected to equip the airport carry out better on-ground and on-air handling of aircraft by quickening the time taken by an aircraft to vacate the runway on landing When:

Works will be taken up from April to July 2009 67 parking bays to come up between primary and secondary runways The network of these three linkways will also act as angular exit taxiways for aircraft landing on the main runway Chennai airport handles close to 400 take-offs and landings everyday, of which approximately 192 are take-offs Passenger traffic: 75,000 per day approximately

LINK TO THE FUTURE

The linkways will reduce the separation between two aircraft in air. Instead of 16 to 18 miles, 10 or even five miles of separation will be adequate The linkways have been planned with a dual purpose — faster vacation of runway after landing and to facilitate future cross-runway operations Four international airlines will have to reschedule their daytime operations till the construction work is on The network of linkways will help crossrunway operations after the secondary runway is extended across the Adyar river next year Domestic airlines to have only short-haul flights during period of construction Operation on main runway to be partlyrestricted in April and completely stopped in May and June between 10 am and 5 pm

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