{"id":52411,"date":"2017-04-08T19:50:35","date_gmt":"2017-04-08T23:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=52411"},"modified":"2017-04-08T19:50:35","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T23:50:35","slug":"despite-3-months-renovation-costing-us-50-million-the-katunayake-airport-runway-has-not-been-upgraded-to-accommodate-large-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=52411","title":{"rendered":"Despite 3 Months Renovation Costing US 50 Million $ the Katunayake Airport Runway has not been Upgraded to Accommodate Large Aircraft"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Namini Wijedasa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite three months\u2019 renovation work which disrupted airline schedules, the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) will not upgrade the Bandaranaike International Airport\u2019s runway in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation-accepted classification for runways capable of accommodating new large aircraft such as A380s.<\/p>\n

Notwithstanding its recent widening at a cost of US$ 50 million, the BIA runway will remain Code E or one that can facilitate aircraft with a wingspan of more than 52 metres but less than 65 metres. The A380 aircraft has a wingspan of more than 80 metres. This is because the width of the core runway at BIA is still 45m and it was only the \u201cshoulders\u201d on either side that were extended during the renovation work.<\/p>\n

In media announcements, Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd bizarrely claimed that the BIA\u2019s upgraded runway was a \u201cmodified Code F\u201d. Such classification does not exist anywhere in International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) literature, which only refers to Code E or Code F runways. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has repeatedly said the BIA runway was capable of accommodating the A380.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A Code F runway requires a core runway of 60m\u2013and not 45m\u2013with adequate strength to bear the weight and pressure of new large aircraft. It should also have inset runway edge lights (the BIA runway has elevated edge lights) and \u2018shoulders\u2019 with adequate bearing strength to provide an overall runway and shoulder width of 75m. It must also have additional runway centre line guidance.<\/p>\n

The BIA\u2019s renovated runway is 45m with shoulders on either side of 15m each. Therefore, while the total runway is 75m in width, it does not qualify for Code F classification. Gnanasiri Withanage, the Head of AASL Civil Engineering, claimed that \u201cmodified Code F\u201d \u2014 a term that appeared in promotional material for the new runway \u2014 was used in the construction industry. He, however, admitted that the upgraded BIA runway would remain Code E \u2013 which it was prior to the renovation work, with only a facility to operate A380 or other Code F aircraft.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) for BIA will specify that the runway is Code E \u2014 but contain a note stating that it is compliant with A380 operation. This is in stark contrast to the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) which has a Code F runway suitable to accommodate scheduled A380 and new large aircraft operations.<\/p>\n

CAASL sources confirmed that airport authorities had hoped for a Code F classification for the BIA runway. But it would have been impossible to grant it under prevailing specifications. Even the runway edge lights at BIA are installed at 45m. (Edge lights are used to outline the edges of runways during period of darkness or restricted visibility).<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot have edge lights at 45m for a scheduled A380 operation,\u201d said an aviation expert, requesting anonymity. \u201cIt is possible under duress, as we have seen Emirates do in the past. And what is \u2018modified Code F\u2019? This term is not used by ICAO, the world body entrusted to ensure that air safety standards are not compromised by States doing as they please at their international airports. Sri Lanka, which has accepted the ICAO, is required to conform to standards prepared over decades, including those for runways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is required for A380s to operate to BIA is a Code F runway,\u201d he continued. \u201cThere are no other codes recognised by ICAO that has features better than Code E yet less than what a Code F runway has to achieve. The requirements to be met when an airport operator wishes to refurbish a runway to transit from Code E to Code F are clearly laid out in a June 2004 ICAO document titled \u2018Operation of NLAs at Existing Aerodromes\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, (April 3), an article was published under the name of the AASL Marketing Manager. The article \u201ccelebrated\u201d how well the repairs to the BIA runway had been carried out. It mentioned the new phrase \u2018modified Code F\u2019.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:Sunday Times<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Namini Wijedasa Despite three months\u2019 renovation work which disrupted airline schedules, the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) will not upgrade the Bandaranaike International Airport\u2019s runway in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation-accepted classification for runways capable of accommodating new large aircraft such as A380s. Notwithstanding its recent widening at a cost …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Despite 3 Months Renovation Costing US 50 Million $ the Katunayake Airport Runway has not been Upgraded to Accommodate Large Aircraft’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52411"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52412,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52411\/revisions\/52412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}