The runway of the Calicut airport will be partially closed for six months from Monday to facilitate the expansion of the Runway End Safety Area (RESA). It will remain closed from noon to 2.30 p.m. and from 3.30 p.m to 7 p.m. from January 15 to March 24, and in the second phase, from noon to 8 p.m. from March 25 to June 30.
Airport Director J.T. Radhakrishna told The Hindu on Saturday that RESA works, including rearrangement of runway lights, would be taken up without affecting the existing flight schedules. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had sanctioned ₹6 crore for the works involving major electrical installation and laying of cables. The contract has been awarded to six firms.
RESA is being expanded to 240 m based on the instructions of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It is now just 90 metres at both ends, which is against the Civil Aviation Requirement.
Following the works, the length of the table top runway, however, will be reduced from 2,850 metres to 2,700 metres.
The length of the runway strip (the area surrounding the runway for reducing damage to aircraft in the event of its unintentional excursion) will remain at 75 metres on either side. With the expansion of RESA, the airport will enable the operation of wide-bodied aircraft like Boeing 777-200, Mr. Radhakrishna said.
Earlier, the airport was partially closed from June 1, 2015 to March 1, 2017 to strengthen the runway. Thereafter, the DGCA also banned the operation of wide-bodied aircraft under Code E at the airport citing the findings based on the Court of Inquiry report on the Air India Express Boeing 737 crash in Mangaluru in May 2010.
Wide-bodied aircraft
Now the airport has plans to operate wide-bodied aircraft from July. The move follows a joint report of the DGCA and the AAI that gave clearance for operating Boeing 777-200 since the aircraft appeared compatible to the airport. The Aerodrome Reference Field Length (ARFL), the minimum field length required for aircraft to take off at sea level in still air and runway slope, for Boeing 777-200 is 2,390 metres.
However, airline companies such as Emirates, Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines), and Air India that operate to Middle East destinations are keen on operating wide-bodied aircraft Airbus 330-300, Boeing 777-200 Longer Range, and Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Calicut Airport.
