Seven airports to have upgraded runways in the coming years! By March 2022, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to upgrade runways at seven airports – Jammu Airport in Jammu and Kashmir, Kolhapur Airport in Maharashtra, Jabalpur Airport in Madhya Pradesh, Barapani Airport in Meghalaya, Kadapa Airport in Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati Airport in Andhra Pradesh and Tuticorin Airport in Tamil Nadu. According to AAI officials quoted in a report, at present, the Jammu Airport’s runway is undergoing expansion to 2,438 metre length from the current length of 2,042 metre. The work is likely to be over by the month of March next year.
The runway extension at the Kolhapur airport from the current length of 1,370 metre to a length of 2,300 metre has already begun and the work is expected to be over by December this year, the AAI officials said. Also, the runway at the Jabalpur airport is to be upgraded by December 2021 and the runway at the Tuticorin airport is estimated to be renovated by March 2022.
According to officials, an airport’s runway is designed for a particular type of aircraft, depending on traffic demand along with various other factors. An official said that as the passenger traffic increases, the operators of airlines want to operate bigger aircraft from the airport. So, at that time, the runway at the airport has to be upgraded in order to make it suitable for that purpose.
The officials said the runway at the Barapani airport will be extended and strengthened by the end of this year. They further stated that the runway of Kadapa airport is also being upgraded and the work will be done by the month of March, next year. By December 2021, the Tirupati airport’s runway will be extended from the current length of 2,286 metre to 3,810 metre.
