Business: Indore’s Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport will be closed for night operations as runway repairs will be done from February 2025 The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will spend Rs 25.27 crore on runway repairs as the condition of the runway is not good, according to a news report citing a tender order. The repair plans include removing the runway surface and replacing it with a new layer, which is similar to the process of laying an asphalt road. This is also known as re-carpeting, according to the report.
According to the report, flight operations from the airport will be closed for a year from late night to the next morning. Airlines and passengers will face trouble for a short time, the news portal said in its report. The last resurfacing work of the runway was done in 2017, but the report said that due to the deteriorating condition due to frequent flight operations, the work needs to be done again. According to the report, minor repair works are carried out throughout the year, but the complete repair work will take about a year.
The current runway is 2,750 metres or 2.75 kilometres long, and during the repair work, the entire runway surface will be replaced with a new top layer of four to five inches thickness, followed by signage and lighting, as per the news report. The repair work will be carried out from midnight to 6 am as it is a fully operational airport, so night flight operations (late night and early morning flights) will remain suspended during that time, and existing flights will have to be rescheduled. As per the report, the tender offer is scheduled for October 1, and the work is scheduled to begin from February 2025. As per the report, airline operator IndiGo is likely to be affected as the company operates morning flights to Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai and Ahmedabad during the repair hours. The flights may have to be rescheduled in the upcoming winter, the news report said.
