Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will have no flight services during daytime for four months starting from November. The runway of the airport will be closed during this time for re-carpeting work.
“The major re-carpeting work will start on November 20 and continue till March 28. There will be no flight operation from 10am to 6 pm in that period. The daytime flights will be re-scheduled to the night,” said an official release of CIAL.
After renovation work each morning, flight services will resume from 6pm to next day morning.
As per reports, there are about 31 domestic services and 7 international flight services that start from Kochi airport during this time of the day. The airport also has around the same number of incoming flights during daytime. At present, a total of 240 aircraft movements are there in a day at the airport.
“As the majority of international flights operate from 6pm to 9am, the re-carpeting is not going to affect the international traffic in a big way,” the official release said. But around 35 of the domestic services have to be re-scheduled.
As per the directions of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), re-carpeting work of runway should be carried out at an interval of ten years.
Kochi airport started its commercial operations in 1999 and its runway underwent first re-carpeting in 2009. This would be the second time runway re-carpeting work which will be done at the airport. This work is estimated to cost around Rs 151 crore.
“The work includes re-tarring, maintenance and overhauling of entire stretch of the runway and taxiway. The daily re-tarred portion has to be prepared for aircraft operation by the time the runway is handed back for operation,” the statement said.
To improve the operational efficiency and Aerodrome safety, especially during low visibility and adverse weather condition, the ‘Airfield Ground Lighting (AGL) system will be upgraded to CAT III from Existing CAT I’. This will reduce the spacing of the existing runway centreline lights from existing 30 metres to 15 metre.”
Airlines have been intimated to re-schedule the timetable for the period so as to provide the passengers who book in advance with the updated schedule, the release added.
