New Delhi: Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital is all set to be revamped. The airport's new terminal and its fourth runway are likely to become operational in September this year. With this addition, the Delhi Airport will become the only Indian airport to have four runways.
Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said on Thursday (April 20) said, "September 2023 will be witness to Delhi airport getting a new terminal and the fourth runway becoming operational. The Indian aviation sector is growing rapidly and we are preparing for better infrastructure and better connectivity with a renewed focus on innovation.” The aviation secretary made the comments at the EU-India Aviation Summit, which began here on Thursday.
IGI airport’s fourth runway
According to officials familiar with the development, the fourth runway is expected to be around 4,400 metres long and 75 metres wide. It is slightly smaller than the third runway (known as 29/11). "The fourth runway is expected to ease the pressure of a likely rise in flight operations.
The new runway will considerably cut the waiting time for flights to land and take off," an official said.
The new runway is part of Phase III-A of the Delhi airport's expansion plan. The original deadline for the plan was mid-to-end 2022. DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited), a joint venture majority-owned by the GMR Group, had in 2019 announced an investment of Rs 9,800 crore to upgrade the existing Terminal 1, build a fourth runway and for other development works to increase the airport's capacity to 100 million passengers a year from 66 million now. The official further said The work on the runway was affected due to the coronavirus.
EU-India Aviation Summit
The two days EU-India Aviation Summit began in New Delhi today. During the summit, a declaration of intent was signed by the Airport Authority of India with Eurocontrol, and a letter of intent memorandum of understanding was signed by DGCA with the European Union Aviation Safety for closer cooperation.
The summit focuses on EU-India air transport relations and the mutually shared challenges and opportunities of the two regions, such as the post-COVID recovery of air traffic, increasing sustainability, maintaining safety and the development of unmanned aircraft systems. The summit will bring together top-level policymakers, industry executives and stakeholders from both the EU and India.
(With PTI inputs)
Also Read: Srinagar-bound SpiceJet flight returns to Delhi airport due to THIS reason
