The Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport is set for a major revamp and will cease its operation during the day time for two-and-a-half months between February and April.
As per NOTAM (Notice to AirMen) sent on September 28, 2016, the single runway at the airport will be closed from 10.30 am to 5 pm every day from February 19 to April 30, 2017, in order to construct rapid exit taxiways (RETs). It means no flights will take off or land during this particular timeframe.
The two RETs will be constructed under the existing runway to improve air traffic movement from 38 per hour to 48 per hour. The work will be completed before the onset of monsoon.
The officials of the KIAL have however said that the closure of operations for six-and-a-half hours will not affect the operations. The Bengaluru airport is the third busiest airport in the country. The airport is planning on enhancing flight handling capacity in the hours before and after the closure every day. The flight schedules have been worked out by the Airt Traffic Control taking the necessary permissions from the Aviation Ministry.
This is the second time in less than five years that the single runway at KIAL is being shut down. The runway was closed in March 2012 for emergency repairs after a premature failure of the runway surface.
Though there has been no official statement given out by the Bengaluru Airports Authority on their website, all the booking portals are now showing that there are no flights on those dates during those hours.
The runway will also be closed for rehearsals and during the show of Aero India 2017 between February 9 and 18.
The Logical Indian contacted the helpline no. provided by Bengaluru International Airport and confirmed it. For any query, you can call their helpline no. 1800-425-4425.
