A 62-foot idol of Shiva, standing very near the mouth of the third runway at Delhi airport — purportedly the longest in the country — has lopped off more than half the landing strip’s usable stretch as pilots now have to keep the statue in mind before beginning the final descent for touchdown.

The statue, pilots have said, springs up in the funnel area of landing, or the threshold from which an aircraft begins to descend. They argue only 2,443 metres can be effectively used of the total 4,330 metres. This is even 1,020 metres less than primary runway 28/10 which is 3,463 metres long.

Some have pointed out that the shortest runway at the airport — 27/09 — is 2,310 metres long. With an effective landing distance of 2,433 metres in the recently-inaugurated third strip (29/11), it edges out the shortest by only 133 metres.

A senior pilot said the usable stretch of the new runway makes it lesser in stature than standard strips in smaller airports. “Most of it is a shiny, tarred snake. Unusable,” he said.

Promoters of the airport, Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd or DIAL — though not on official record — have tried to discredit the pilots on this argument. Officials maintain it is the longest runway, a claim endorsed by the Director General of Civil Aviation Kanu Gohain. “A runway is measured from tip to tip. The shortened threshold is considered only for landing and not take-offs.” However, even for take-offs, pilots said, the available strip is of 3,143 metres — from the Dwarka side.

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