Mumbai International Airport, known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), is scheduled to remain closed on Tuesday (October 17). After the monsoon season, the airport will be temporarily closed for maintenance work on the airport’s two runways. According to the statement of CSMIA, flight operations will be stopped for six hours. Maintenance work will continue from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
An airport spokesperson said, ‘As part of CSMIA’s post-monsoon runway maintenance plan, both RWY 09/27 and RWY 14/32 are scheduled to remain temporarily non-operational on October 17. This scheduled temporary closure is a part of CSMIA’s annual post-monsoon maintenance plan. In this regard, a notice (NOTAM) has also been duly issued to the airmen six months ago.’
Why Was The Flight Operation Stopped?
According to airport officials, the purpose of the scheduled temporary closure of the airport is to repair and maintain the runway. He says that only through this the airport infrastructure can be maintained to the highest standards. CSMIA says the runway is closed for maintenance every year after the monsoon season. This is part of the work through which not only the flight operation but also the safety of the passengers is ensured.
Mumbai Airport said this temporary closure shows how passenger safety is the first approach in its operations. The statement said the airport has spoken to all the key stakeholders and informed them about this. So that flights can be scheduled for proper completion of maintenance. The airport said it also expects cooperation and support from the passengers. Nine hundred flights fly from Mumbai airport every day.
33 Percent Increase In The Number Of Passengers At The Airport
On Monday, Mumbai Airport said its passenger traffic increased by 33 per cent in the September quarter, reaching 1.27 crore. Compared with the September quarter of 2019 before the Covid pandemic, the number of passengers has increased by 109 per cent.
In the last quarter, there were 60,861 domestic air traffic movements at the airport, while the number of international air traffic movements stood at 20,438. According to officials, they recorded 96 lakh passengers in the year-ago period.
