City airstrips unsafe: Report

The city airport’s runways do not meet international safety standards, a recent audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the global policy maker for air travel, has revealed. The audit was conducted in December 2012 and HT has reviewed the audit report.

The city airport’s runways do not meet international safety standards, a recent audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the global policy maker for air travel, has revealed. The audit was conducted in December 2012 and HT has reviewed the audit report.

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The audit found that the airport’s secondary runway did not have a safety surface, which is essential to protect an aircraft that overshoots an airstrip. Acco-rding to the ICAO annexure on aerodrome standards, a runway must have adequate Runway End Safety Area (RESA).

The findings also stated that the airport’s main runway does not have the mandatory width of 300 metres for its full length. The city airport is the country’s second busiest airport after Delhi. It witnesses more than 700 take-offs and landings daily.

The Mumbai airport operator accepted the deficiencies. “We have set a deadline of August 2013 to correct the deficiency with the main runway and the RESA for the secondary runway would be built by June 2013,” said a Mumbai International Airport Limited (Mial) spokesperson. Despite several attempts, DGCA chief Arun Mishra was not available for comment.