Mumbai airport to shut runways on October 17 for maintenance work

The airport's runways were shut for six hours as a part of its annual monsoon contingency plan on May 2 this year

Mumbai airport on Friday said both its runways will remain temporarily closed for six hours on 17 October as part of the facility's post-monsoon maintenance plan.

The airport noted that the primary objective of the scheduled runway closure was to undertake repair and maintenance activities. It said the annual post-monsoon maintenance was a part of the airport's activities to ensure 'operational continuity' and 'passenger safety'.

“As part of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport’s (CSMIA) comprehensive post-monsoon runway maintenance plan, both runways - RWY 09/27 and RWY 14/32 will be temporarily non-operational on 17 October 2023, from 1100 hrs to 1700 hrs,” a CSMIA spokesperson said in a statement.

The airport added that the closure is part of the airport’s annual post-monsoon preventive maintenance plan. The airport said it had informed airlines and other relevant stakeholders about the maintenance plan six months in advance to ensure flights are scheduled accordingly.

A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) has also been duly issued in this regard six months in advance, the airport noted.

The airport's runways were shut for six hours as part of its annual monsoon contingency plan on 2 May this year.

Last week, a Learjet-45 aircraft with eight occupants crashed at the Mumbai airport as it attempted to land in heavy rain.

The aircraft had six passengers and two crew members on board when landing. While no casualties were reported after the crash, the aircraft’s pilots and occupants sustained multiple injuries.

The visibility at the runway was 700 metres at the time the aircraft crashed.

The VSR Ventures Learjet-45 aircraft VT-DBL’s flight originated from Vizag (Visakhapatnam) and had its destination in Mumbai. The incident occurred around 5:00 pm on 14 September.