RAWALPINDI: As part of the government’s efforts to upgrade facilities for airlines and passengers, a new taxiway was inaugurated at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) with the landing of a commercial flight on Friday.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) termed the opening of the Delta taxiway a major development and claimed that it would result in cost saving of $150 per minute per aircraft.

Fariah Shah, the joint director public relations CAA, in a press statement said the new taxiway would allow the aircraft to exit the runaway after landing, making it possible for other planes to land or take off. Earlier, the airport had only two taxiways which resulted in taxing back for every landing aircraft which involved up to seven minutes of additional time on the ground.

Airlines landing on the new Delta taxiway will be able to save both time and fuel. The taxiway would help saving Rs120 million in two to three months in terms of fuel savings alone, she said.

The CAA said it took the initiative to construct the Delta taxiway to connect the main runaway with the PAF taxiway, Charlie, which would cut down the aircraft holding time on the ground as well as in the air. Every successive flight will save additional seven minutes resulting in benefiting all the airlines.

A senior official of the CAA added that the construction of the 150-foot-wide and 1,700-foot-long Delta taxiway started in May last and was completed this month.

The existing runway at the airport is 11,000 feet long and 200 feet wide with the parking capacity of 11 aircraft at the bay.

It was suggested by experts that the aviation division should build a wider taxiway to reduce the timing of landing and takeoff.

The newly-built taxiway will also help the PAF aircraft and VVIP aircraft to reach at the takeoff point in a short span of time. With the addition of the delta taxiway, the number of taxiways has reached four – Alfa, Bravo and Charlie.

The BBIA recently launched upgrading facilities at the airport for accommodating both the airlines and passengers.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2015

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