Though resurfacing of the runway at periodic intervals is essential to ensure safe flight operations, the long hours of night shutdown, and the long period of over four months has caused concern among air travel operators
| Photo Credit: Representational image
The proposed night closure of Visakhapatnam International Airport from November 15, 2023 to April 1, 2024 to facilitate runway resurfacing works is likely to have an adverse impact on the introduction of new flights as well as the restoration of the international flights that were withdrawn during the pandemic.
The Visakhapatnam–Singapore flight, which is being operated successfully for the past 10 years, will continue to operate as the management of Scoot, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, has decided to reschedule its operations. Three domestic flights have been reduced by airline operators, reportedly due to the disruption of schedules.
Though resurfacing of the runway at periodic intervals is essential to ensure safe flight operations, the long hours of night shutdown, and the long period of over four months has caused concern among air travel operators. The night shutdown coming during the peak tourist and holiday season is adding to their grief.
“We haven’t received any revised shutdown schedule for the night shutdown of the airport. Scoot Airlines, which operates from Vizag to Singapore, has agreed to reschedule its flight. The flight currently arrives at 11 p.m. in Vizag and takes off for Singapore at midnight. It will now arrive at 7 p.m. and take off at 8 p.m., according to the revised schedule,” Airport Director S. Raja Reddy told The Hindu on Thursday.
BJP MP G.V.L. Narasimha Rao had met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, in the first week of last month, and brought to their notice the proposal of the Navy to shut down night operations at the airport from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. for about four months. He sought the intervention of Mr. Rajnath Singh for revising the shutdown timings from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. to minimise the disruption of flight schedules apart from completing the work in about three months by using modern technology and deployment of more men and materials for speedy execution of the work.
The BJP MP held discussions with Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), in this regard, on Thursday. The ENC Chief informed him that the hours of closure announced was essential for surfacing and curing of the runway on a daily basis. He told him that reducing the shutdown time was neither feasible nor advisable as Visakhapatnam airfield does not have a parallel taxi track unlike other bigger airports and this makes resurfacing all the more time-consuming.
The ENC Chief, however, said that more time slots were available for more flights during the day time and the ENC was prepared to deploy additional manpower in the ATC, in this regard.