Flight operations at the Mumbai airport are likely to be affected for two days as the private aerodrome operator today announced the closure of the main runway for six hours daily for pre-monsoon maintenance work.

The closure of the main runway, 09/27, is expected to put passengers at inconvenience in view of the suspension of a good number of services by various airlines during the period, sources said. The Mumbai airport is the primary base of Jet Airways and a bulk of its operations, both domestic and international, are carried out from here.

"The main runway of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) handled by GVK MIAL, will be non-operational on April 9 and 10, between 11:00 hrs and 17:00 hrs on account of pre-monsoon maintenance activities," the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said in a statement, issued about an hour before the commencement of the runway closure.

Passengers are requested to connect with their respective airlines, said MIAL, the private airport operator. The Mumbai airport, which is the second busiest in the country, has two crossing runways -- 09/27 (the main) and 14/32 (the secondary runway).

While the primary runway can handle up to 48 arrivals and departures per hour, the secondary runway has a capacity of 35 movements per hour. On an average, there are 970 flight arrivals and departures at the Mumbai airport every day.

Source: PTI