Those travelling to Mumbai on Monday afternoon or flying out of the city might end up facing delay. All passengers have been advised to call the airlines and check their flight departure schedule before they head to the airport.
Both the runways of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai will be shut down from 12pm to 5pm on October 31 for runway maintenance work, according to a report in the Times of India. The runways 09-27 and 14-32 will be closed for upgradation and repairs. Mumbai airport authorities have informed all airlines and even pilots about this maintenance work and scheduled closure. In view of this, flight timings have been revised as well.
With the runway maintenance work scheduled to take place for five hours, flights are likely to be delayed or even cancelled. The closure is likely to see air traffic congestion post 5pm at Mumbai, the publication quoted an air traffic controller as saying.
Delay in flight operations due to maintenance work at the airport in Mumbai is not something new. Authorities at Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) state that all airlines have been given the schedule for closure of runway well in advance.
In fact, the MIAL had stated in September that both the runways in Mumbai will be shut down for maintenance work from 12pm to 5pm on every Monday and Thursday for about a month — from October 31 until November 28. This means passengers would be inconvenienced for a total of nine days.
Jet Airways had revised its flight schedules when the notice was issued. CSIA officials have stated that all services will be resumed normally after November 28.
