The bountiful rains in recent months sure is good news for farmers and general public as there will be sufficient water for agriculture and drinking needs. GMR Hyderabad International Airport, which is just about trying to get its mojo back after the lockdown, has its own challenges during the rainy season.
It is quite a task to keep the airport functional during heavy rains and just before the monsoon, an 'annual pre-monsoon preparedness check' was done in a collaborative and precise manner involving all departments. Work includes checking on roof leakages, water stagnation, drain blockages, flooding etc., to prevent or minimise the impact on any operational part of the airport.
Rigorous inspections are done as the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) during the pre-COVID era was handling close to 60,000 passengers and around 550 air traffic movements daily. Now, it is 20,000 passengers and 200 plus aircraft in the aftermath of the shutdown and limited operations, said official sources.
Airside, where aircraft land, take-off, manoeuvre and park, terminal building, where passenger travel processing takes place, and landside, the forecourt of departures and arrivals, and airport approach road are the key places. Technical heads of these wings work round the clock on shifts to provide technical and engineering support to plan out the necessary repairs for the season.
Among the key personnel is K. Padmaja, planner of engineering and technical services. "I track the monsoons and take note of the rains of the previous years to help in formation of a robust actionable plan. Monsoons are unpredictable so we plan in advance site surveys with other teams and coordinate resources management of men, machinery and material," she says, the daughter of a farmer, who passed out of the GMRIT Rajam College in Srikakulam.
Her colleague Vasant chips in: "We inspect runways, taxiways, aprons and other roads as also buildings, drains on both airside and landside. We have to plug leakages in the beginning itself and have a zero tolerance towards any deficit found." The main runway of 4,260 metres is capable of handling the biggest aircraft like the A380 and a secondary runway of 3,707 metres gets a thorough check round the clock and inspections are doubled during monsoon with about 380 persons exclusively scanning it.
"We have an online application, 'One Direct', to monitor maintenance and inspection issues flagged by the airport community. It can also track the status of the snag and resolution on a real time," he adds. "We have to go the extra mile to check and clear clogging in storm water drains running through the entire airport. We are working for maintenance of a national asset and for the service of our passengers. This is the reason that, so far, our airport has not faced any challenge in any inclement weather – let alone the monsoons,” explains Mohd. Barkath Ali, associate manager.
With COVID-19, focus is also on "individual health and hygiene". "Teams are told daily about precautionary measures to be taken by every individual whether they’re at home or in workplace,” said official sources.