According to sources, the delayed arrivals resulted in a flood of passengers at the immigration counters, making the task of officials herculean.
"We had close to 1,085 passengers in a time span of just 15 minutes, waiting for the clearance stamp on their passport by immigration officials. It seemed as though the 18 counters were just not enough, due to the heavy rush." said a source from the immigration counter.
Later, BIA issued a statement saying that scheduled maintenance of the runway this month, is reason for international arrivals being rescheduled. "As a result, airline operations between 11.30 pm and 5.25 am (local time) on the nights of May 9, 11, 16 and 18 have been rescheduled. While certain international flight operations will be affected, the runway closure will not affect any domestic operations" said a spokesperson from BIA.
Airport authorities also said they have coordinated with all impacted airlines to reschedule their operations, in response to the runway closure to minimise any inconvenience.
Sources in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) said three incoming arrival flights before the closure and seven, post the closure of runway had to be rescheduled, resulting in a bunching of sorts.
"While Lufthansa decided to cancel all their flights into Bangalore on the days maintenance is being carried out, other airline have rescheduled their operations" added another source.
According to sources, runway maintenance would involve chipping off of few affected areas of the runway surface by 80-90 mm and relaying it using fast drying components. "It is possible that minute cracks would have appeared, in what is known as 'Runway Stress'. These cracks would have appeared over an area of 300 mtsX900mts over sections of the runway, requiring repair. With the monsoon setting in, it is better to have it attended and ensure smooth landing of aircraft," sources added.
