Reschedule fuel stop in Kolkata, airport tells Air India
Times of India | 15 September 2025
Kolkata: Keen to expedite crucial maintenance work on the primary runway and complete it before the onset of winter, Kolkata airport authorities have requested Air India to consider rescheduling or relocation of the technical halt of its flights from Mumbai and Bengaluru to San Francisco.
Not only does traffic increase during winter, there are also fog-related disruptions then.
The Air India flights, which have been making a technical stop in Kolkata since the closure of Pakistan airspace in April, has been identified as a key factor in delaying of the runway repairs. The flight, operating four days a week from Mumbai and three days from Bengaluru, currently lands in Kolkata for crew change and refuelling, impacting the available downtime needed for maintenance.
Airport officials have emphasized the need for a 7 to 8 hour window during the day to conduct repairs on the primary runway. However, the current schedule only allows for a four-hour window due to the operational requirements of the wide-body Boeing B 787 aircraft used by Air India for the San Francisco route.
The primary runway is undergoing essential maintenance, including the removal of rubber deposits and the application of a new bituminous layer.
These repairs are critical to ensure the runway's readiness for the winter season, which typically sees an increase in flight operations and weather-related challenges.
While the secondary runway can accommodate narrow-body aircraft, it is not equipped to handle wide-body planes like the Boeing 787.
This limitation has prompted the airport authorities to seek alternative solutions for the Air India flight, which is the only wide-body aircraft operating in the afternoon.
Other international carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines, which also operate wide-body aircraft to Kolkata, have their scheduled flights at night, thereby not interfering with the daytime repair schedule. Thai also operates wide body aircraft when loads are high. Emirates does have a flight in the morning but it arrives around 8 am and departs around 9.45 am.
The airport's primary runway has been undergoing phased repairs since Jan last year, with initial work scheduled for nighttime hours.
However, these efforts were suspended in May 2025 due to security concerns following regional tensions.
The ongoing work resumed in June 2025, with a tender issued for special repairs on both the primary and a portion of the secondary runway. As Kolkata airport authorities push for the completion of these repairs, the cooperation of Air India and other stakeholders will be crucial in ensuring the runway's readiness for the upcoming winter season, thereby minimizing disruptions and maintaining operational efficiency.