New taxiway at Mumbai airport

Mumbai, July 4 (IANS) A new rapid-exit taxiway, which will reduce the runway occupancy time of aircraft, was commissioned at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here Wednesday, an official said.

The new RET N5 taxiway, which is located on the northern side of the main runway 09, will reduce the runway occupancy time of aircraft by upto 10 seconds, and also ensure optimum utilization of the runway.

Located 2,145 metres from the threshold, RET N5 is 415 metres long and has been designed to facilitate all wide-body aircraft vacate the main runway 09 with ease after landing.

"With this successful commissioning, Mumbai International Airport Ltd has completed one more key recommendation made by NATS, a global leader in air traffic services and solutions, for capacity enhancement at CSIA," the official said.

The first flight to utilize the taxiway Wednesday at 11.37 am was a Jetlite Boeing 737 aircraft, which was welcomed with a water cannon salute.