The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has closed Runway 28/10 to carry out some essential repairs since Sunday, and it will be non-operational over the next three months, i.e., until September 15. This has severely affected air traffic on a daily basis. The officials of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) have indicated that their airport is likely to experience more than 200 flights in a single day in this time, and 114 flights will be canceled on a daily basis, as well as 86 flights will be rescheduled daily.
The runway will undergo necessary upgradation works so that it can become CAT-III B compliant and aircraft landings with respect to low visibility situations like dense fog in case of the high winter season in Delhi. At the present time, the airport has only one runway capable of CAT-III B requirements, and it limits the number of landings to 15 take-offs or landings per hour during the worst fogs. As 28/10 is refurbished, the number may go up to 30, increasing the efficiency of the overall flight and reducing weather-related flight interruptions.
This is following a chaotic effort earlier in April when the same work involved the same runway, causing flight delays and inconveniences to passengers because of the miscoordination. Having learnt its lesson there, DIAL now says it has made comprehensive consultations involving airlines and other stakeholders in the country to develop a stronger flight management plan.
Delhi airport is involved in 1,450 flights per day, and the number of cancellations is expected to be about 7.8 percent of the schedules, which is more than the routine 3 to 4 percent daily disruption. IndiGo will cancel 33 flights a day, and Air India will cancel about 25 flights a day.
The three remaining runways, the Runway 27/9, 29R/11L, and 29L/11R, will be reoriented in order to carry out certain routine activities with the Runway 28/10 closed down. Departures will be on runway 29R/11L, all the arrivals on runway 29L/11R, and runway 27/9 will operate on a hybrid schedule.
There is also an imminent geopolitical tension, such as that between Iran and Israel, which may bring more harm to the management of the airspace, and according to officials, the current plan is supposed to be adaptive and flexible.
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