Come Jan 10,small aircraft to fly from Juhu

Coupled with the shift of chopper movements to Juhu,this move is expected to lead to a reduction of at least 10 movements daily at CSIA. On busy days,it could lead to a reduction of up to 25 movements,airport officials said.

“It will reduce congestion on the runway and marginally reduce landing delays. But there will be little difference in air space congestion,as flights would still have to vector themselves on the Mumbai approach path before they are diverted to Juhu by the air traffic controller,” said an airport official. “But it will free up slots for take off and landing at CSIA,it will free up a lot of parking space for the Mumbai International Airport Limited,” said an official.

As of now,congestion at CSIA is such that even flights landing in the afternoon have to spend around 30-40 minutes holding in the Mumbai airspace,waiting for a turn to land.

By January 10,Juhu airport officials want the airport to have additional security and communication equipment. The airport has also earmarked additional officers for Air Traffic Control and communication. The aircraft could get additional landing aid like a Precision Approach Path Indicator.

Additional civil and electrical work will be undertaken this month to spruce up the infrastructure and officials are looking at levelling and grading of parking space,painting of secondary runway and taxiways and lighting of parking spaces.

Juhu airport will eventually come under CISF cover,but the necessary infrastructure for CISF deployment is not yet in place. “But the airport will be able to enhace additional security through the Maharashtra security guard board,” said an official.

Airport officials at Juhu will also be approaching the BMC to get clearance for the pruning of trees that have come up along the runway 26 funnel zone.