After a 6-hour long scheduled closure of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport operations for pre-monsoon runway repairs and maintenance, normal flight operations resumed again on Tuesday evening, an official said.
The CSMIA is the world’s busiest single-runway airport with over 770 flight movements daily. As announced earlier, the work started at 11 a.m. on both the runways – RWY 14/32 and RWY 09/27 – which were closed for all flights till the work was completed at 5 p.m.
The runway repairs and maintenance were necessitated as Mumbai gets upto 700mm rainfall in monsoons and to keep it prepared for any adversities.
The works involved measures in waterlog-prone areas, opening 2,000 drains and duct banks and cleaning them, health check of the runways both mechanically and manually by trained specialised to detect superficial cracks, disjoints and texture.
Around 5,000 aeronautical ground lights on the two runways and taxiways were serviced and checked, electric cables were segregated, repairs carried out at the intersection of the two runways, plus 1,300 ground markers which provide directional guidance to aircraft were repainted for better visibility during the monsoon.