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AAI commissions phase I of part parallel taxi track at MIA

MANGALURU: Even as Airports Authority of India (AAI) has approved construction of part parallel taxi track (Phase-II) and grading of basic strip at south side of Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) at Kenjar, it commissioned the phase I of the work on Monday. Air India flight AI 680 Mangaluru-Mumbai was the first flight to use this newly built taxiway and AAI crash tenders welcomed it with a water cannon salute as it entered the new taxiway.

Phase I of the taxiway entailed filling nearly 30 metres of valley abutting the airport and the facility built was totally from concrete, J T Radhakrishna, airport director, MIA said. Phase I was completed in around 18 months and finally commissioned after DGCA granted its approval, Radhakrishna said, adding AAI has placed work order for phase II with M/s PBI Construction Company for construction of this critical work at MIA at a cost of Rs 98 crore.

Total extension of taxiway track being built in phase II is 1200 metre long. Taxiway is the stretch or strip connecting runway with the apron (parking stand for aircraft) in the terminal building. Aircraft uses the taxiway for entry and exit from the parking stand to the runway. With construction of parallel taxi-way, aircraft could move from the parking stand, wait in the additional taxiway and enter the runway for take-off immediately after the plane that has landed exits the runway.

This additional taxiway particularly helps in the long run when the number of flights increases at the airport. It is operationally very important for flights movement on ground. The works on phase II are likely to be completed within 30 months, Radhakrishna stated. Airlines currently connect people both domestically and internationally from MIA and the volume of air traffic from state’s second international airport after Bengaluru is growing steadily each fiscal.