Runway repair work delays departures

Several flights, especially those flying out of the city, were delayed by an hour on Thursday because the main runway was not available for operations.

Several flights, especially those flying out of the city, were delayed by an hour on Thursday because the main runway was not available for operations.

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Flight movement went out of hand by evening because the smaller runway was jostling for space to handle peak hour traffic. “It is a terrible day. All our evening flights are leaving after 9pm,” said a senior operation staff with a private airline.

An Air India flight IC 572 carrying 100 passengers to Chennai missed its departure slot because the coach that ferries passengers was stuck in the airfield traffic. “The bus was late because of airfield congestion,” said an Air India spokesperson.

Airlines claimed that the runway was not available because of some repair work. A MIAL spokesperson, however, said: “The runway was available to the air traffic control. We do not know why they did not use it.”