Monday, April 15, 2024
The plan to transform Terminal 2 (T2) at Delhi Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport into a solely international terminal has been deferred until early next year.
According to sources close to the situation, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has opted to postpone the conversion to prevent the operational difficulties experienced last winter. These issues arose mainly when vital infrastructure, including the main CAT III runway (28/10), was shut down for maintenance during foggy conditions. The conversion efforts for T2 are now slated to begin in April next year, after the winter season concludes.
Additionally, the expansion of Terminal 1 (T1) is expected to become operational by early June 2024, subject to clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Initially, T2 was intended to stay in operation for a few months post the T1 expansion to manage any early operational challenges. However, to minimize inconvenience for travelers, the conversion of T2 has been rescheduled for April next year.
As part of this strategy, T2 is expected to be prepared to handle international flights by the winter of 2025-26.
India is currently the fastest-growing major aviation market globally, and the domestic capacity at IGI Airport has been increased with the expansion of T1. However, international capacity could be stretched as soon as this fiscal year since only Terminal 3 (T3) currently manages international flights at Delhi airport.
In response to the looming capacity issues, DIAL had initially proposed making T2 an international terminal on a temporary basis, with plans to eventually demolish it for a new terminal.
DIAL CEO V K Jaipuriar had previously discussed several strategies to accommodate the growing international demand, including temporarily re-converting T2, converting one of T3’s domestic piers to international use in the medium term, and replacing T2 with a larger Terminal 4 (T4) in the long term.
Despite plans for T4 to be completed by 2030 or 2032, airlines have recommended that DIAL also allow T1 to handle international flights due to the surge in air traffic, which had already necessitated the construction of a new T1 before the originally planned T3 for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The impending operation of the new Noida airport, expected to begin before the end of this year with a Terminal 1 capacity of 12 million passengers annually for domestic flights, might also affect DIAL’s future plans for IGI Airport.
Monday, April 29, 2024
Monday, April 29, 2024
Monday, April 29, 2024
