Mumbai airport runway to be closed for six hours

Thousands of fliers are likely to be inconvenienced as the main runway of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai will be closed for six hours, on Monday and Tuesday.

The runway will be closed between 11 am to 5 pm on both the days.

A source said that all airlines were intimated on the development a long time back and no flights will be scheduled during the affected time period.

Also, the maintenance work is at the intersection, as no alternate runway will be available during the period.

Owing to this, Air India (AI) has has cancelled 34 flights, while it has rescheduled eight of its flights, all domestic-bound.

The AI issued a statement, "Due to maintenance activities to the runway at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the runway will be closed on April 9, 2018 and April 10, 2018 from 1100 hrs to 1700 hrs. Passengers planning their travel during this period are requested to allow for sufficient time, in case of delays, while making their bookings."

For Jet Airways, 64 domestic and six international-bound flights were cancelled. It has rescheduled 53 domestic and 17 international flights respectively.

According to Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport handled around 980 flights in a single day in January 2018. The airport has already crossed its installed capacity of 40 million passengers. (ANI)