Delhi airport looks to bump up international passenger capacity, optimise 4-runway operations | Business News
Delhi airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) wants to increase its international passenger traffic handling capacity by 40-50 per cent over the next one year, while also raising its peak runway capacity by 30 per cent over a three-year period, its chief executive officer Videh Kumar Jaipuriar said Friday.
The Delhi airport—Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA)—currently has an annual passenger handling capacity of around 105 million passengers, of which international passenger handling capacity stands at around 22 million. IGIA is the largest airport in the country.
Speaking at the CAPA India Aviation Summit in Delhi, Jaipuriar said that the airport has nearly hit the mark of 20 million international passengers a year, and with just 10 per cent headroom left, the operator is now looking to increase capacity substantially to cater to the fast-growing international segment.
Currently, around 20 per cent of the international passengers at the IGIA are transit passengers connecting to other international or domestic destinations. Jaipuriar said that DIAL is studying ways on how to take it up to 30-35 per cent, which would be crucial for development of the Delhi airport as an international transit hub.
DIAL is also working to optimise its runway operations to utilise its four runways to their full potential. Currently, IGIA has a peak aircraft movement rate of 84 movements per hour, which is likely to go up to 110 movements per hour in two to three years. An aircraft movement refers to the take-off or landing of a plane.
This would lead to the number of slots at the airport—15,000 per day at present—to increase to over 2,000 after optimization of four runway operations. IGIA is the only airport in India to have four runways and the operator is working with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and international consultants to optimise runway operations. An airport slot refers to permissions granted by the airport operator for aircraft to land or take off at specific times.
DIAL has also started work on the master plan for the next phase of growth, as is taking inputs from airlines—particularly major players IndiGo and Air India—for it, given their massive fleet expansion and upgradation plans. Between them, IndiaGo and Air India have over 1,400 aircraft on order.
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On being asked whether the airport could have dedicated terminals for large airline groups like IndiGo and Air India in the coming years, Jaipuriar said that no such call has been taken and the airport could have “anything from dedicated terminals for airlines or dedicated terminals for domestic and international (flights)”.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
