One of most busiest airports in Pakistan has seen chaos and massive crowds as multiple flights cancelations meant hundreds of passengers were left stranded at airport waiting for departures. It is important to note that Lahore airport’s main runway 18L/36R has Category IIIB Instrument Landing System that guides aircraft to land. The functional runway 18R/36L has a lower category ILS that was made functional few days ago. Due to fog density the visibility has fallen below the range of ILS installed on Runway 36L.
Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority announced the closure of the runway from October 9, 2020, to February 21, 2022 for the reconstruction and up-gradation work. Due to single runway and limited taxiway availability, there are sever issue of flights departure and arrivals. Airlines were already advised to carry sufficient fuel for anticipated holding in air, delayed take off and delayed departure. Its been over 10 months and there are no signs of the runway completion.
The secondary runway at the Lahore airport would is used as an alternate runway during the period. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), closed the runway immediately closed for the repair after a captain of Paris-Lahore bound flight informed the authorities about cracks in the runway, which he witnessed at the time of landing.
