Carry out periodic checks of runway surface: DGCA tells airport operators

Aviation watchdog DGCA on Tuesday directed all airport operators to carry out periodic inspection of runway surface.

Airport operators have to mandatorily conduct "periodic friction test and rubber removal" to ensure that runways are in proper condition, a senior official told PTI.

Friction test assesses the resistance of a runway, a key factor for effective braking of an aircraft at the time of landing.

"Rubber deposits in the touch-down zone of the runway are one of the primary causes of reduction of friction values when runways are wet," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a circular.

The aerodrome operators should also keep a watch over rubber deposits and take necessary actions for their removal, whenever values are nearing minimum friction values, it added.

The latest direction also comes against the backdrop of recent incidents of planes overshooting runways.