Thiruvananthapuram: Trivandrum International Airport, managed by Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), has completed the recarpeting of its 3.4-kilometre-long and 60-metre-wide runway in a record time of 75 days. This places TRV Airport is a unique position of having achieved an all-time best completion among brownfield runways in South India. From 30 March 2025 onward, all flight services at TRV Airport will revert to the regular schedule.
The challenge of recarpeting the runway without impacting the operations of scheduled flights was managed by TRV (Kerala) International Airport Limited by using only nine hours of Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), daily during the 75 days it took to complete the project. During this period, the runway managed an average of 80 flights per day during the remaining 15 hours of the day. Despite the NOTAM, Thiruvananthapuram Airport facilitated over nine lakh passengers and 6,000 ATMs during this period.
About 50,000 metric tonnes of asphalt – equivalent to a 120-lane km stretch of road – was laid for runway recarpeting. A network of 150,000 metres of duct pipe was established for the entire utility. Simultaneously. 5.5 Lakhs sq. m of graded strip area upgradation was completed. A total area of 2.40 lakh square meters recarpeted.
In keeping with the airport’s continued endeavour to improve operational efficiency and reduce inconvenience to passengers, the team from TRV (Kerala) International Airport Limited had ensured that the target of 75 days was met by increasing resources. 500 staff and workmen completed the project 0.3 million safe manhours, utilising over 200 pieces of sophisticated equipment.
The runway at TRV Airport was last recarpeted in 2015. The recarpeting process included milling of the existing bituminous runway, followed by bituminous inlay and overlay to meet the design parameters in line with standards specified by the Aviation Regulator.