From Takeoff to Timeout: Delhi Airport Operator Grounds Runway Upgrade Amid Travel Chaos

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which operates the busiest airport in India, has announced a temporary suspension of its plan to upgrade a runway after receiving a large number of complaints from enraged passengers about significant delays in flights. The announcement follows the delays of nearly 900 flights - or 60% of arrivals and 76% of departures - on Sunday which annoyed travelers and raised questions about the fatigue of pilots.

 

The upgrade, initiated at the beginning of this month, included enhancements to the Instrument Landing System (ILS) on runway RW 10 / 28 to allow for improved operations in lower visibility. Because of the closure of the runway, the Delhi airport cut its arrival capacity from 45 aircraft per hour to approximately 31 or 32 aircraft per hour, which only worsened delays, as the adverse headwinds from the east disrupted schedules.

 

DIAL indicated that the plans to upgrade the runway had been coordinated with carriers and stakeholders several months before anticipated flight delays, and airlines had been forewarned to modify their schedules to account for the disruptions. However, with little change made to schedules, the impact on flight schedules was significantly exacerbated during the busy summer travel season.

 

After managing the backlash of complaints, DIAL announced that they would reopen runway 10 / 28 again in the first week of May, and the remaining upgrade work would be suspended for a temporary period of about a month. The operator confirmed that the one-month suspension was meant to alleviate current traffic accumulated at arrivals and to improve passenger flow through their airport more efficiently.

 

Delhi airport experienced approximately 78 million passengers in 2024, which has ranked the airport the ninth busiest airport globally. The most recent occurrence showed the pressure building on India's air transport system, and the authorities are again considering the development of additional airports to accommodate the air traffic growth demand in major city centers like Delhi and Mumbai.

 

Source: Reuters