The mandatory procedures for commissioning of the new parallel taxi track- N5 - at Visakhapatnam International Airport have been completed and it is ready for operation. Though it has already been notified in the Aeronautical Information Publication(AIP), a formal commissioning is awaited.
The Airports Authority of India(AAI) had spent ₹23 crore on construction of N 5 and six additional parking bays at the airport. A total of 12 big aircraft can be parked at the airport now. In addition to this, four smaller aircraft can also be parked at the old terminal building. These facilitates parking for airlines operating late in the night and for early morning departures from the city.
Once N 5 is commissioned it will help in increasing the number of flight movements by two an hour. Though the construction of N 5 taxi track was completed sometime in November 2019, it could not be commissioned immediately as there were several procedural issues to be followed. These included safety inspections by various agencies and sending information on the new taxi track to airports across the globe.
The subsequent lockdown and restrictions on movement of flights due to COVID-19 resulted in further delays. “We are planning for the inauguration of N 5 by August 16. We have invited Visakhapatnam MP and the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) for the launch,” said Airport Director K. Srinivasa Rao.
The aircraft can start using the N 5 taxi track to reach the parking bays. The ‘L’ shaped N 5 track facilitates quick movement of the aircraft to the parking bays. The existing N 3 and N 4 are located perpendicular to the runway. On commissioning of N 5, the operational efficiency of the airport would improve considerably. The flight movements, which were 80 a day, before the lockdown, dropped drastically before picking up steadily after the easing of restrictions. The number of flight movements is now 46. Once N 5 becomes operational, the flight movements can be increased up to 120 a day.
“The expansion of the terminal building is in the final stages and we expect it to be completed by September-end,” Mr. Srinivasa Rao added.
