Mumbai Airport will begin its major repair and restoration work from today. (File Photo)
The Mumbai airport will begin major repair and restoration work today, which will stretch till the end of November, and is likely to impact operations and cause flight delays, especially with the rush of travellers during the festive season.
The main runway of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, which caters to both domestic and international flights, will be shut from 12 pm to 4 pm today and tomorrow and also on October 22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30, and flights will be routed through the secondary runway. Sections of the airport are expected to be shut intermittently from October 18 to 30.
But what is likely to cause the maximum inconvenience to passengers is the complete shutdown of both runways on every Monday and Thursday from 12 pm to 5 pm starting October 31 till November 28. This means no flights will take off from or land at the airport within the stipulated time for a total of nine days.
Authorities at Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) claim that airlines have been informed well ahead of time about these maintenance breaks, giving them a heads up to rework schedules.
A spokesperson of Jet Airways said that they have revised their flight schedules and requested travellers to check the updates on the website.
"In light of the forthcoming closure of the Mumbai Airport runway with effect from October 18th until end-November, Jet Airways has revised its flight schedules for some of its flights arriving into/departing from Mumbai. We are taking proactive steps to keep guests updated of revised timings and re-accommodation on alternate flights where necessary.
Other airlines like Indigo and SpiceJet when contacted said they had not yet issued any specific travel advisories for passengers. Air India could not be contacted for their response.