MACL commence using new runway in VIA as taxiway

Maldives Airports Company (MACL) on Tuesday commenced using the newly developed runway in Velana International Airport (VIA) as a taxiway.

According to MACL, the use of the runway as a taxiway was a temporary arrangement and added that this will give an added boost and strengthen the operation of the airport.

Additionally, MACL revealed that previously only eight aircraft were able to utilize the runway, but with the new arrangements, 16 can use at a given time. Moreover, during peak hours, even more, flights can be accommodated, hence cutting down the waiting time for flights in the air by a large margin.

MACL predicted that now instead of 10 minutes, the time taken to clear out the runway for landing will be cut down to only two minutes, decreasing the overall waiting time and ultimately providing a lot more convenience to passengers.

Although the runway is now in use as a taxiway, it will be used for take-off and landing by the third quarter of this year.

The runway built to meet the standards to accommodate the largest passengers airlines is 3,200 metres in length and 65 metres in width.