Mumbai International Airport announces successful completion of runway maintenance work, flight ops resume

The post-monsoon runway maintenance work at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) was successfully finished today in an effort to promote smooth aircraft movements and guarantee passenger safety. Between 1100 to 1700, both runways—RWY 14/32 and 09/27—were under construction. The CSMIA resumed regular business activities after six hours of work. This routine annual runway repair is done to improve the airport's operating effectiveness.

Mumbai has had more than 400 millimetres of rain this year, therefore, inspecting the runways is essential to improving the safety of aircrafts that are landing and taking off. The CSMIA completed repair work for normal wear and tear as well as the installation of runway edge lights for runway 14/32, trenching work for laying underground cables for segregating AGL (Aeronautical ground lights) near the beginning of runway 09, and validation of the strength of RESA (runway end safety area) on runway 09 intersection.

Also read: Jet Airways CEO reviews Akasa Air flight, praises rival airline for ‘excellent crew’

A different team carefully examined more than 5000 installed aviation lights to look for damage. The runway strip's drain pits and chambers, which are crucial for illumination and navigational aids, were also examined.

As one of the country's busiest airports, CSMIA witnesses nearly 800 flight movements daily. Thus, to ensure operational continuity, timely check, and repair work on the runways is of utmost importance to maintain its health. Specialists in engineering and airside teams inspect the runway surface for micro-texture and macro-texture wear and tear and signs of distress. These are attended to in the scheduled closures of 09/27 and runway 14/32 at different weekly intervals.

Mumbai Airport broke all previous records by processing 1,30,374 passengers on September 17, 2022. It should be noted that today is the busiest day for travellers at the airport since the Covid-19 pandemic. This growth in passenger traffic is the result of airlines linking more places with airports.