Runway maintenance, which will render one of the runways at the two airports unusable for take-offs and landings, will lead to delays, cancellations and rescheduling of nearly 2,000 flights.
Passengers flying in and out of Mumbai and Delhi are likely to face flight delays and hiked airfares for the next six months due to runway repairs at the two airports.
The runway maintenance, which will render one of the runways at the two airports unusable for take-offs and landings, will lead to delays, cancellations and rescheduling of nearly 2,000 flights.
Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport will close one of its three runways for 13 days in November, while the Mumbai airport runway will remain shut for six hours thrice a week between February 7, 2019, and March 31, 2019.
"During both closures, domestic flights will be impacted the most and airlines will be cancelling flights that will lead to fares rising during those days," an airline executive told The Economic Times.
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Runways need repair for safe aircraft operations. "These works are essential for safe aircraft operations and to avoid sudden disruptions that cause greater impact," Delhi International Airport (DIAL) said in a statement, adding that this would impact about 100 flights a day. DIAL is the airport operator in the capital.
An executive of DIAL's Mumbai counterpart, Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), said: "We have decided to close it during the day time to ensure that early morning, late evening and international flights are impacted minimally."
The runway will be closed from 11 am to 5 pm during the period between February 7 and March 30. Over 950 flights operate from Mumbai airport every day. Close to 700 flights are expected to be affected during this period.