By Sanjay Singh, IANS,
New Delhi : In the absence of adequate upkeep of runways, airports across India continue to remain vulnerable during rains and monsoon, endangering both passengers and aircraft, commercial pilots say.
The situation seems to be getting worst at airports in Kozhikode, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram, as well as the secondary runway at the Mumbai International airport and airstrips in smaller towns, where aircraft frequently slide dangerously on wet tarmac.
“It becomes very difficult for the pilot to operate on these runways,” Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) general secretary Vikram Yadav told IANS. “During rains and monsoon, the situation becomes worse. Pilots are advised to be very careful during landing and take-off.”
According to the ICPA, runways at most of the airports in India – other than at the metro and a few bigger cities – fall way below international norms. “When an aircraft lands at Kozhikode or Mumbai (on the secondary runway), it trembles and passengers panic,” Yadav said.
The risk at airports in Bhopal, Patna, Madurai and Baroda, among a clutch of smaller cities, is also very high. These airports have short runways – less than 7,000 feet in length. A senior official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) admitted that airfields with runway-length less than 7,500 feet are not safe during heavy downpour.
But another official who manages air traffic management of the AAI countered the ICPA allegations. “There may be few variations at the airports but our runways meet international norms,” he claimed.
However, the ICPA insisted ground realities are different. “Runways are the backbone of the aviation sector. But they are largely neglected. Also, infrastructure at many airports in India is not good enough for air services,” argued the ICPA member.
According to airline pilots, all jet aircraft leave a fair amount of rubber on the runway surface. Every landing and take-off adds more rubber layers, which accumulate over time.
“It’s difficult to bring an aircraft to a stop on landing when the surface is wet and slippery in heavy rain conditions,” Yadav said. “We have been raising this issue with the AAI, but not much has been done.”
On very wet runways, a commercial pilot said, even a test pilot would require more than double the distance to land an aircraft. “Our cockpits are not manned by test pilots but by ordinary mortals – average pilots,” he said, requesting anonymity.
Worse, many runways are not strong enough for safe landing of planes. A senior AAI official said on condition of anonymity that runway levels were often very low and need to be raised by at least two-and-a-half feet, especially at places that experience frequent rains. “Little is being done to minimise water-logging at runways,” he said.
With the met office predicting a fairly strong monsoon ahead, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has advised pilots to strictly follow the flying norms for the monsoon season.