City airport set for expansion
NEW FEATURES Runway length to be increased to enable big aircraft’s landing and take off, parallel taxiway and installation of hi-tech radar
LUCKNOW: T he Chaudhary Charan Singh airport in the state capital is all set for expansion. The Airport Authority of India has given the thumbs up to the plans for increasing the length of runway from 2742 metres to 3325 metres, which will enable big aircrafts like Boeing 747 and 757 to land at and take off from the airport. The project will be completed by 2017.
Director air port Suresh Chandra Hota said, “We have got a green signal from AAI to add 583 metres to the runway. We are also constructing a parallel taxiway for planes so that landing of more than one plane can be ensured.”
Taxiways are useful for busy airports because they allow aircrafts to leave the runway at higher speed. Presence of a parallel taxiway allows the aircraft to vacate the runway faster, allowing another to land or take off at a shorter interval.
Hota said survey of land to be used for expansion was complete and the details had been shared with the state government. It had promised to support the AAI in acquiring land of seven adjacent villages for the expansion. Presently, despite being an international airport, the runway is unfit for landing of bigger aircrafts like Boeing 747 or 757.
With pressure on Delhi air- port increasing, the centre wants to develop Lucknow as an alternative airport for landing of international flights from all over the world.
Lucknow has been losing traffic because it could not permit the landing of bigger aircrafts till now.
At present, more than 100 flights arrive and take off per day from the Chaudhary Charan Singh airport. This number will increase five times if the runway is expanded.
Besides that, Lucknow airport would be one of the most hi-tech airports of the country with the arrival of monopulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR) which is being installed on the land of Bhaktikhera village. The installation work began on Sunday, said Hota.
This radar is one of the most advanced in the world. It would boost the working capacity of Air traffic control as this radar not only detects and measures the position of aircraft range but also gives information about the identity and altitude of the plane.
Earlier the primary radar system was able to measure only the range and bearing of targets by detecting reflected radio signals.
He said the AAI is increasing ground capacity and air capacity at the same time , there is plan to make Chaud ha ry Charan Singh airport into the best three airports of the country in the days to come.