Airport runway closed for an hour after runway peels off
Posted on: 04/Sep/2015 4:23:29 PM
Flight operation were halted for over an hour at the Chennai Airport. The portion of the runway that was repaired recently was damaged on Thursday resulting in delayed flight operations on Thursday. According to sources, when a Saudia Airlines flight took off in the evening, about 60 m of the runway peeled off. A pilot noticed this and informed air traffic control immediately. As a result, more than seven flights were diverted to Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The runway was closed for a little over an hour.
An official from the airport said, `The runway was closed for a while, before the debris was removed. Flights have started landing from around 9.15 pm. The runway from the Trident end was already having a "displaced threshold" for landing and take-off due to relaying work (the touchdown and the take-off points have to be pushed further because of obstacles or damage). The re-carpeting work had kept a portion of the runway out of bounds for aircraft. Now, with the new damage, one-fourth of the 12,000-foot runway cannot be used. This will mean that international airlines may not be able to assign Chennai as an alternative airport for landing during an emergency.`
