In a step to decrease air traffic congestion, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has finished construction of a rapid exit taxiway at Chennai airport. This exit links the main runway to a taxiway and helps aircraft leave quickly.
AAI officials said the construction work was completed in the last week of July and authorities from the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had inspected the site.
“They raised a few queries and we responded to them. This is an inspection relating to safety and other parameters. As soon as the approval comes from DGCA, this can be put to use. If an aircraft lands, using this rapid exit taxiway, it can seamlessly leave the main runway,” an official said.
Less occupancy
The AAI has been building a few such rapid exit taxiways in the airport as part of the phase II modernisation project.
These are meant to reduce the runway occupancy time of flights and the number of flights that the main runway can handle is likely to go up, when the entire work is completed.
“Right now, we can handle up to 36 flights an hour and this will significantly go up and the main runway can take 50 flights when work is over. Our aim is to bring down the runway occupancy time of aircraft to 60 seconds,” the official said.
Meanwhile, work on the integrated terminal as part of the second phase of the project is on. It had been delayed for want of manpower, officials said.
Although there were some workers now, their number was less than half of the required workforce for construction, they added.
