CIAL to do without second runway

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport will not go for a second runway as being demanded in the wake of the trouble at the Karipur airport after the partial closure of its runway for repair.

“The Cochin airport does not require a second runway as the current runway can hold the traffic that will come in the next 20 years. Moreover, it is different in nature from the Karipur airport runway and won’t need any partial closure necessitating diversion of flights when recarpeting and repair are needed,” said a top official of the airport company.

At the recent annual general meeting of CIAL here, a few shareholders had demanded setting up of an additional runway so that the functioning of the airport is not hampered in future.

“One of the most famous airports in the world, the Gatwick airport, runs on a single runway. Even after the commissioning of the new international terminal, Cochin can function smoothly with its single runway,” said the senior official.

It is learnt that though a section in CIAL is of the view that an additional runway is always an advantage; the cumbersome process of acquiring at least an additional 500 acres for setting up even a staggered runway is the main hindrance in going for it.

“Land acquisition is a herculean task in Ke-rala standards. Anyhow an additional taxiway can increase the efficiency of the current runway,” said another official at the airport.

Meanwhile, the airport is all set to introduce a second instrument landing system (ILS) in six months, which will allo-w aircraft to take off and touch down on both directions of the runway.

It will reduce fuel consumption while landing, especially for flights coming from Gulf nations, and avoid flight delays during monsoon and winter when visibility is low.

The equipment will be installed at the westerly approach to the runway. “This will minimise diversions of flights from the airport,” said an official.