CHENNAI: Chennai airport’s plan to relay the surface of its main runway is facing trouble, as dozens of obstacles have crept into the approach funnel of the secondary runway which needs to be in usable condition for the work to be taken up in the main runway. Airport officials have urged the state to take steps to swiftly remove the obstacles of the secondary runway.
At the Airport Advisory Committee meeting on Friday, chaired by Sriperumbudur MP TR Baalu, it was decided that a joint committee — comprising state revenue officials and AAI representatives — will engage stakeholders, including the state government, to fast-track clearance of obstacles.
M Raja Kishore, Chennai Airport director, said aircraft movements have risen from 425 to 475 a day, while daily passenger footfall, across the three terminals, has climbed to nearly 70,000. The surge comes just as the airport prepares to shut its primary runway for recarpeting, essential to address surface deterioration and maintain safe operations for larger Code E aircraft.
The real choke point, he said, lies beyond the airport perimeter. An Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) survey conducted in August last year flagged 176 obstacles - from unauthorised buildings and telecom towers to tall trees - encroaching into the approach funnel. Many slipped through because local bodies failed to enforce colour-coded zoning maps or verify above-mean-sea-level clearances properly.
With the approach compromised, the airport has had to “virtually” cut 780 metres off its 3,661-metre secondary runway, limiting it to handling only smaller Code C aircraft. “If these obstacles are removed, the secondary runway could immediately be used for Code E aircraft and complete recarpeting round-the-clock,” Kishore said. “Right now, we get only a five-to-six-hour window, and reopening the runway soon risks rapid surface damage.”
A six-hour shutdown of the main runway could reduce aircraft movements from 475 to about 415, prompting diversions that “should not be construed as Chennai losing traffic”, he said. The bigger danger is airlines shifting wide-body operations to competing metros if Chennai cannot assure reliable infrastructure.
Even partial removal of obstacles in airport’s runway, Kishore said, could restore 3,000 metres of usable runway length and ease pressure on Code E operations. “We need swift action if Chennai is to keep pace with its own growth,” he added.
Kishore added the tender for the recarpeting works, estimated at `40-50 crore, is ready. But for the project to begin safely, the obstacles must go.