Flying club runs into air pocket as Juhu runway works get delayed

Mumbai: The delay in recarpeting the Juhu airport runway has hit the Bombay Flying Club and a few air maintenance works in the complex. The recarpeting work started in April and is yet to be completed.
Juhu is mainly used by smaller planes. Work on recarpeting the 1.2 km runway will cost Rs 4.6 crore.
Mihir Bhagwati, president of the Bombay Flying Club, said: “Since there is congestion in Mumbai, we operate our planes from Dhule. The problem now is that we cannot get our planes for maintenance. Besides, we can’t fly our planes from here.”
A senior official said it will be a problem to get their aircraft to Juhu if needed. Airport Authority of India sources said the runway was at a low level and always got waterlogged.
The Juhu airport is surrounded by slums on the northern and western side. The drains passing along the airport were clogged during the monsoon. Often, the waterlogging damaged the tarmac and runway.
The Airport Authority of India, which manages the runway, has decided to raise the runway.
30/10/09 Yogesh Naik/Times of India