Delhi airport set to get busier

With a flight taking off or landing from one of its three runways every 55 seconds during peak hours, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is the busiest and buzziest in the country.

This month, the airport has witnessed an average daily flight movement of 1,035, with the peak reached on November 6, with a record breaking 1,082 air traffic movement.

This, however, could only be the beginning for the airport to find itself in the august company of one of the world’s busiest airports such as London’s Heathrow.

“Delhi went past the Mumbai airport some while ago by handling many more passengers and flight movements and the gulf has only widened. By next year, we might even overtake London Heathrow airport (average daily movement of 1,400),” said a senior air traffic control official who didn't wish to be named.

Unlike the airport of the country’s financial capital, space is not a constraint at IGIA, which is spread over 5,100 acres.

The Delhi airport already has three runways, which can operate simultaneously. A fourth runway is just a few years away if you believe the plans of the private airport operator, Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL).

Two years ago, Delhi airport reached the record of 75 flight movements in an hour.

At present, that figure is almost a daily occurrence during peak hours with the highest recorded movement being 78 in an hour.

According to sources at the airport, IGIA already has the capability of handling 80 to 85 flight movements an hour.

According to highly placed sources, one of the major changes in recent time has been minimising the voice contact between pilots and air traffic control officials, which used to take a lot of time.

At present, most of the information and clearances are shared online and reaches aircraft cockpit directly and most international and many domestic airlines are using the system.

“Despite the huge increase in number of flights in the last two years and more expected in the coming time, air traffic management has become much more smooth and faster thanks to the new systems and procedures in place,” said a senior air traffic control official.

“The ‘routings’ are now standardised and air traffic officials don't have to explain the entire route to each pilot anymore. For example, instead of directing the pilot on which taxiways to take and then take which route to reach their allotted parking bay, they simply tell them to take route 1 or 2 or so on. This has helped in reducing a lot time, which helps in handling more flights in the same given time,” he said.

“The coming days are only going to get busier and flights keep increasing, thanks to the push given to regional connectivity, we might be even counted amongst the busiest airports in the world,” he said.