New runway's biggest advantage: flights cleared in 3 minutes

This Thursday is a historic day in the long life of the country's main airport, Velana International Airport (VIA). The inauguration of the new runway is the biggest development VIA has seen in years. The airport will speed up on many facets of its operations, and the age-old complaints of flight delays caused by lack of runway space should also come to an end. 

"Once the runway is opened, flights will not be required to hover around in mid-air for the better half of an hour, holding for clearance to land. The operations of the airport will be very fast now. This is a quality runway that will solve many issues," said Hassan Areef, General Manager of Corporate Affairs and Communications at Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL, which operates VIA.

New runway:

The biggest foible faced by VIA is that the runway was built 62 years ago when the airport was first opened. Outdated and depreciated, the runway needs to be frequently renovated for continued use. The cost of repeatedly repairing the surface course of an outdated runway was very high, and every time the runway needed fixing, the airport had to suspend all flights temporarily, causing commercial losses.

Flight clearance from 15 minutes to 3 minutes

An aircraft that currently lands at VIA will be cleared from the runway in about 15 minutes, but according to Areef, the new runway will enable aircrafts to be cleared and readied for another aircraft within just 3 minutes now.

He said that this will increase the speed of services provided at the airport by unprecedented levels.

"The operational capacity will increase by about 80%; this is an advancement that changes everything," Areef said.

Although the runway was opened and the first test flight was conducted on the new runway during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s regime in September 2018, the runway was not used primarily due to the delay in the removal of the former TMA terminal that was located obstructively. 

The new runway has been used as a taxiway since February due to pressure over the airport's busyness and congestion.

The runway was officially launched to prepare for upcoming tourism peak season after the opening of the new seaplane terminal in June, and the former TMA terminal was dismantled and the land was cleared.

From 8 flights to 21 flights

Areef said VIA will now be able to operate 21 flights within an hour without any difficulties with the inauguration of the new runway. The old runway will then be used as a taxiway. Aircrafts can land at the new runway, and then clear it to taxi on the former runway within a short period of time.

"Previously, only 8 flights were operated per hour. However, 21 flights will now be able to operate within the hour. Other operations of the runway will also be speeded up," Areef said.

The new runway was constructed to accommodate the largest aircrafts currently in use, like the Airbus A380. Areef said that the new runway was designed for continued operations without incessant repair, upgrading or maintenance for a long time.

"The new runway is a modern runway that fits international runway standards for decades to come. No matter how big the aircrafts are, it won't be difficult to land anymore; this runway will accommodate everyone," Areef had said.

New runway will allow operations in bad weather

Another complaint by some airlines regarding VIA is the difficulty of landing on the old runway during bad weather and heavy rain. The reason underlined is that the existing runway does not have state-of-the-art navigation light systems. Therefore, if the weather worsens, flights sometimes have to travel to airports in destinations close to the Maldives.

Areef said the new runway will have a state-of-the-art navigation light system. He said that light systems have been installed on both sides of the runway, compared to the one-sided light system on the old runway. 

Areef said that the new navigation light systems of the new runway will make it easier for aircrafts to land on days when visibility is low. He said the new light system will beacon the flights in absolute darkness as well.

"Even if it rains heavily, or is extremely windy, flights can land smoothly due to the light system of the new runway. Aircraft touchdown will only be hindered on the new runway in very extreme weather conditions," Areef said.

Vice President Faisal Naseem inaugurated the new runway and seaplane terminal on Thursday at a special ceremony that began at VIA at 6.30 am. Emirates flight EK656, a Boeing 777, was the first plane to land on the new runway at 7am. 

The new runway will make things easier on many facets during the hectic tourism season in the Maldives, bringing efficiency to VIA operations like never before. The new terminal currently under construction that is scheduled to be opened soon will further speed up VIA operations, but due to the seemingly slow construction work on the new terminal, this is improbable anytime soon.