City runway to shut for 5 hrs on Sat

Travel plans of several fliers will be affected on two Saturdays — April 23 and 30 — as flight movement will be halted for five hours at the Mumbai airport due to runway repair work. HT reports.

Travel plans of several fliers will be affected on two Saturdays — April 23 and 30 — as flight movement will be halted for five hours at the Mumbai airport due to runway repair work. The closure is expected to affect around 120 flights, one-fifth of the daily air traffic at the city airport.

HT Image

Most airlines have cancelled, rescheduled and clubbed flights to minimise inconvenience to fliers. While Air India has cancelled eight flights, most on the Mumbai-Delhi sector, Jet Airways has clubbed a Mumbai-Bhubaneshwar flight with a Vishakhapatnam-bound flight.

Jet Airways has also revised the timings of its Mumbai-London flights.

The stretch that will be taken up for repairs is the area where the two runways at the airport intersect. According to airport officials, the lights on the edge of the runway would be relocated as the main runway has been widened from 45 metres to 60 metres.

According to travel agents, people who had planned their vacations in advance and were scheduled to travel on the two Saturdays are likely to have a tough time.