New Delhi: In what would be a major inconvenience for air passengers from next month, the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport may cancel or reschedule around 100 flights due to crucial maintenance work. A similar attempt was made last month at the airport, leading to chaos, which forced the work to be abandoned.
According to a report published in Hindustan Times, while 50 flights may be canceled, another 50 might be rescheduled starting June 15 till mid-September. As per officials, runway 28/10 will be closed to upgrade the Instrument Landing System (ILS) to CAT III B standards, which will help pilots land their flights in low visibility conditions, mainly during foggy winters. Air Lines like IndiGo and Air India, which have the largest number of services at the airport, will be required to make the most number of adjustments.
Crisis in April exposed critical coordination
The crisis in April exposed critical coordination. Even though the airlines were informed about the runway closure well in advance, the airlines did not reduce the number of flight operations. The work that was started on April 8 was forced to stop, and the runway was reopened on May 5 following the intervention of the Centre after several passenger complaints.
The decision to postpone the work was taken keeping the peak summer months in mind during April and May. The closure in April led to a drop in flight arrivals from 46 to 36. Sharing more details with the paper, another official said that the window may remain leaned between June to September. He observed that it would be better to take a small hit now instead of facing large-scale delays during foggy days in winter.
