Differences have cropped up between the civil aviation ministry and Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) over the closure of the airport's main runway.
"DIAL wants the entire runway closed for a long period of time, while the ministry is against it, citing inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the move," said a source close to the development.
"We do not want the runway closed. We are still looking at various options. Today's meeting remained inconclusive. We are meeting again in about a week's time," said a senior official from the ministry. A DIAL spokesperson said he was unaware of the meeting.
The Delhi airport currently has three runways - 27, 28 and the new runway 29 - out of which 28 and 29 are mainly used. According to sources, DIAL wants runway 28 to be closed.
However, airlines are against the proposal, arguing that restructuring of their operations after the runway closure would increase their turnaround time at the airport, leading to more fuel consumption. In addition, the maximum take-off weight of the aircraft would have to be reduced, affecting the passenger load factor (PLF) of the flights operating in and out of Delhi.
According to sources, the carriers voiced their concerns in a recent meeting with DIAL and other stakeholders, including officials from the air traffic control (ATC), which comes under the Airports Authority of India.
In the meeting, airline executives pointed out several difficulties to be faced in operation of flights from runways 27 and 29. "I will have to bus my $40 million asset (aircraft) around for 25 extra minutes (to taxi from the new runway), leading to fuel and maintenance costs going up," said a SpiceJet executive.
There was a suggestion that all international operations be undertaken from runway 29 and domestic operations from 27. This, however, would have an impact on the maximum take-off weight of the aircraft, thus leading to lower loads.
"Shorter runway would mean that the aircraft gets a shorter distance for the lift. This would necessitate a lower take-off weight of the aircraft. Thus we have to cut down on the total number of passengers and cargo carried by the aircraft," said an Air India executive.
"Additionally, the runway heats up during the summers and that too would bring down the take off weight of the aircraft. So we have a double impact," he added.
A Jet Airways executive said they were formulating a response to be submitted to DIAL, the civil aviation ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the three bodies that will decide on the closure of the runway.
"Of course, there will be an adverse impact, more so on us, since we also run international operations. We are formulating a reply to be given to DIAL and the government," said a senior executive at Jet Airways.
