Delhi Airport Expansion: IGI Airport Set To Launch Its Fourth Runway In July

The fourth runway at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, which has faced significant delays, is set to commence operations starting from 13 July.

The date was confirmed by Sanjeev Kumar, the chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), according to The Times of India.

Additionally, the airport is also expected to open an expanded Terminal-1and an elevated taxiway — the first in India — by September.

Once the fourth runway gets operational, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) plans to close the other two runways — the main runway between Terminal-1 and Terminal-3, and the one closest to the Shiva statue, for repairs.

 “The main runway (10/28) will then be shut for recarpeting and should start handling flights before the year-end, or early next year,” said an airport official with information about the plans.

Around March next year, the runway closest to the Shiva statue side (11R/29L) will be closed for about two months for minor repairs.

Following these revamping and developments, the IGI airport will have all four runways operational by next June-July — to increase its flight handling capacity to well over 100 flights an hour while also making it the only Indian airport to have four functional runways.

As per airport officials, the fourth runway will be 4,400 m long and 75 m wide, slightly smaller than the third runway. The new runway was included as part of Phase III-A of the expansion plan for Delhi airport.

Originally, the deadline for completion was set for the middle to end of 2022, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction of the runway was impacted.

The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), 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 passenger handling capacity.

“The current peak traffic handling capacity at IGIA in the three-runway configuration is 86 aircraft movement (ATM) per hour. The increase in traffic handling capacity with four runways is expected to rise 8-10 per cent, subject to certain operational requirements,” a senior AAI official had said recently.

Earlier in April, the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport also joined the league of the world's ten busiest airports based on passenger traffic, as per Airports Council International (ACI).

In 2022, the airport handled approximately 5.95 crore passengers, earning it the ninth position on the global trade association's ranking.