Ahmedabad: Four flights connecting Ahmedabad to Mumbai are canceled on Tuesday due to pre-monsoon repair work on the runway at Mumbai airport from 11 am to 5 pm today. The flights that are canceled are Akasha air 12.05 pm, Indigo at 2.45 pm, Akasha Air at 4.05 pm, and Indigo at 5.50 pm. The flight of Go First (1.55 pm) has been rescheduled to 4.50 pm. Those who booked tickets in advance are given options of getting a refund or reschedule their journey.

Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) said that both its runways– RWY 09/27 and RWY 14/32– will be closed on May 2 for six hours for maintenance work under its monsoon contingency plan. The airport will be closed from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm and a notice to airmen (NOTAM) has been issued regarding the same. All services will resume as usual post 5:00 pm.

The CSMIA witnesses nearly 900 flight movements each day and has a network of runways, taxiways, and aprons spanning an area of around 1,033 acres. The CSMIA statement as accessed by news agency ANI read, “Thus, to ensure operational continuity during the monsoon months, timely check and repair work on the runways and associated facilities is of utmost importance to maintain its health and operational continuity.”

The yearly runway maintenance work involves inspection of the runway surface by the engineering and airside teams for any wear and tear that is likely to have occurred due to day-to-day operations and strengthening the airside strip, as per the CSMIA. The airport further said that all relevant stakeholders have already been intimated six months in advance. It also added that this helped airlines plan their flight schedules accordingly.

The statement further said that the maintenance work is a part of the airport’s monsoon contingency plan devised to respond to and mitigate any possible issues likely due to the weather during the monsoon season.

DeshGujarat