IIA shuts flights on one runway for repairs

It will only be used for taxiing and lining up aircraft waiting to take off

RAWALPINDI: Just a month shy of celebrating its second birthday, authorities at the Islamabad International Airport on Thursday announced that they will be shutting down one of its two, parallel runways after a depression, spanning several feet, appeared.

Officials at the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) on Thursday said that a 1,000 feet (304.8 metres) section, starting from the threshold bar on the runway, has been observed to have been impacted by the newly-developing depression (defined as localised pavement surface areas having elevations slightly lower than those of the surrounding pavement).

Owing to this impediment, the secondary runway has been closed for take-off and landing operations until July 6.

Confirming the development, A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) notification said that the crumbling runway will continue to be used for aircraft to taxi and line-up as they wait to take-off from the operational runway. It added that the airport will continue to receive and dispatch flights through the primary runway during this period.

The depression has occurred at a time when international flight operations are suspended due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, until at least April 11, except for some domestic scheduled, non-scheduled (only for Gilgit and Skardu), chartered, private aircraft and general aviation operations.

However, the domestic flight operations to and from IIA for are still being carried out routinely.

When The Express Tribune contacted the IIA manager, he confirmed that the secondary runway of the airport had been closed for landing and take-off operations after the depression emerged. He added that the depression only affected only a small part of the 3.5 kilometre-long runway.

He added that the impacted section will remain closed for flight operations and will only be used for taxiing aeroplanes and their line-up.

Asked when the closed runway would become operational again, the official said that repair work has begun and is expected to be completed until July. Till then, only the primary runway will be used for handling air traffic adding that the closure of the runway will not affect flight operations from IIA.

The IIA was constructed for Rs105 billion and it took over eight years to build it. The first project concept-I for the project was drafted in March 2008, with the project estimated to cost Rs37 billion.

The PC-I underwent a review in 2014 when the project cost was revised to Rs81 billion. It underwent a second review in March 2018, when its cost was revised to Rs105 billion.

It was designed to accept flights of the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner. Two years after the airport was inaugurated in May 2018 by former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, it remains the only airport in the country which can accept A380 flights.

However, a parliamentary accountability body has already pointed to problems in the runway before the airport opened, noting in an April 2018 meeting that the airport cannot operate two flights simultaneously on its two runways because the distance between them is two narrow and may cause accidents.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2020.