Early-morning departures are being delayed by 45 to 75 minutes, owing to the revamp of the secondary runway and some major taxiways. One of the most crucial taxiways, Alpha 3 or A3 that provides passage for domestic flights to main runway 09/27, is among those shut, and this is at the root of all delays in domestic departures.

The airport has 27 taxiways, of which four have been shut for refurbishment. “Two taxiways connect the apron areas to the main runway. The first connects the international apron area; the other (Alpha 3) connects the domestic one. With the closure of A3, all traffic has to pass through the international apron area and via the other taxiway,” a senior airport official said. “It’s like converting a two-lane highway into one-lane.”

The other three taxiways shut for renovation are November (N), Golf (G) and Zulu (Z). An official of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said these taxiways would be fully operational only by January 31.

After getting route clearance, a pilot awaits ground clearance, following which he gives the pushback command. He is then cleared to proceed to the taxiway by the apron control. It is in these areas where there are general delays everyday.

“We are facing a lot of delays and our on-time performance has been affected,” said a senior commander from Air India. “Push-back is not on time and there is a lot of congestion during takeoff. I have faced a delay up to 30 minutes between getting route and ground clearance from ATC. That particular flight was delayed by one hour and 15 minutes.”

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