Delhi International Airport, also known as the Indira Gandhi International Airport has become the first airport in India to get four runways and an elevated taxiway. The fourth runway and the dual Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT) became operational at the Delhi Airport on Friday and was inaugurated by Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation along with Ret. Gen. V K Singh, MoS, Ministry of Civil Aviation. A ceremonial water cannon salute was accorded to an Air India Flight AI 821 from Delhi to Srinagar to mark the operationalisation of the fourth runway.
Increased Passenger Capacity
The development of the new runway, along with the expansion of terminals will increase the capacity, which is expected to have an annual passenger handling strength of 109 million in the near future. Currently, the capacity is 70 million passengers per year, and Scindia emphasised that Delhi airport will even beat Atlanta airport in its capabilities. The Atlanta International Airport in the United States is the world's largest airport, in terms of passenger capacity.
He further said the country's civil aviation sector is at an inflection point and the beginning of the growth phase. Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) handles around 1,500 aircraft movements every day and the fourth runway will result in the airport being able to handle more flights.
It will increase the capacity throughput from the current level of 1,400 to 1,5000 aircraft movements to almost 2,000, Scindia said at the inauguration of the fourth runway and the ECT. Air travel demand is on the rise and in June, domestic air passenger traffic rose nearly 19 per cent year-on-year to around 1.25 crore.
Here's another shot to keep up your excitement #FlyHigh. The graceful take-off of the #firstflight from India's #firstever Fourth runway at #DelhiAirport.@airindia @Officejmscindia @AAI_Official @MoCA_GoI#EaseElevated pic.twitter.com/EiP8N9i3ET
— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) July 14, 2023
Dual Eastern Cross Taxiways
With the operationalisation of the ECT, taxiing time for planes will come down to around 10-12 minutes from around 20 minutes earlier. The ECT, which is 2.1 kilometres long and can accommodate wide-body aircraft, will reduce the time spent on the tarmac by passengers after landing and before take-off of their flights. The ECT will connect the northern and southern airfields on the eastern side of the airport and will reduce the taxiing distance for an aircraft by seven kilometres.
The distance an aircraft needs to cover after landing on the third runway and going to Terminal 1 (T1) will be reduced to two kilometres from 9 kilometres now. The dual-lane ECT can handle wide-body aircraft, including A-380 and B-777 and B-747. Each lane is 44 metres wide with a gap of 47 metres between them to allow simultaneous passage of two aircraft.
According to DIAL, the ECT is estimated to save around 350 kilograms of fuel every time an aircraft taxies through the runway from RW 29R to Terminal 1 and vice versa. Talking about the ECT, Scindia said that while planes will be taxiing on the ECT, vehicles will be moving on the road below.
