Sanjha Morcha

Airport plans to increase aircraft parking space

AIRPORT HAS PROVISION TO PARK NOT MORE THAN 8 AEROPLANES; THE UPGRADE WILL ALLOW ACCOMMODATION OF 13 AIRCRAFT

From page 01 CHANDIGARH: Anticipating a rush of aircraft in the near future as the upgrading work continues, Chandigarh International Airport has decided to add five more apron slots for aircraft parking at an estimated cost of ₹20 crore.

HT FILE■ Unlike airports in Delhi or Mumbai, airport here does not allow night halt for aircraft due to limited watch hours and less space.The tender was floated on Thursday to seek bids from private players. Last date to submit bids for apron space is April 11.

The apron is the area of an airport where an aircraft is parked and unloaded after landing. From here it is then refuelled and departs.

At present, Chandigarh airport has provision to park not more than 8 aeroplanes. Two of them are dedicated to cargo operation and are only used for passenger aircrafts in case they are not in use.

Deepesh Joshi, airport spokesperson, said they have sufficient parking space given the current operation hours. But the airport may require more parking space for aircraft once it starts 24-hour operations, which is likely to happen after the current runway upgrade. Joshi said after the capacity building of apron space, the airport will handle 13 passenger aircraft at the same time.

TWO MAJOR BENEFITS

Joshi said it will help in two areas. “First we may cater to the maximum aircraft during peak hours. Secondly, we may also be in a position to provide night halt facility for aircraft,” he said.

During night operations, aircraft land much earlier than their schedule departure. In those circumstances, more apron space is always vital for smooth operations, especially in early morning operations, Joshi said. Unlike airports in Delhi or Mumbai, Chandigarh does not allow night halt for the aircraft due to limited watch hours and less aircraft space.

CONSTRUCTION WILL TAKE OVER A YEAR

Creating additional parking space will take at least 14 months, as mentioned in the tender document.

An airline official said, “We are expecting 24-hour operation at the airport by early 2019. The authorities therefore should firm up plans to put in place all facilities required for round-the-clock operations.” As per the tender document, apron space is being built to handle the parking of category 4C type of aeroplanes. It includes Airbus 321-200 and B737900 that can fly beyond 4,000 km.