Delhi airport to increase peak runway capacity by 30% in 3 years: DIAL CEO

India's largest airport also plans to increase international passenger handling capacity by 50% in 12 months, he says

Delhi Airport is working with the government-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) and an international consultant to optimise operations so that it can increase peak runway capacity by about 30 per cent to 110 movements per hour in three years, said Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, chief executive officer of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), on Friday.

The airport wants to increase its international passenger handling capacity by 40-50 per cent in the next 6-12 months as the transit traffic, domestic-to-international as well as international-to-international, is growing rapidly, he said.

The Delhi airport handles more than 100 million passengers annually. About 82-83 per cent of this capacity is for domestic flights while the remaining is for international services. The GMR Group-led DIAL runs the Delhi International Airport, India's largest, which handles 84 aircraft movements per hour during peak hours.

"We have four runways. We are working with an international consultant, the AAI, to optimise our operations. We will first go for a dependent parallel approach. Then we will achieve an independent parallel approach. In 2-3 years, our peak runway capacity would increase to about 110 aircraft movements per hour," Jaipuriar said at CAPA India Aviation Summit 2024.

A dependent parallel approach involves two aircraft approaching closely spaced parallel runways with interdependent operations, requiring coordinated timing and separation to ensure safety. An independent parallel approach lets two aircraft land on widely spaced parallel runways simultaneously without interference, maximising efficiency and capacity.

Jaipuriar said that the airport offers 1,500 slots per day to airlines and this would increase to more than 2,000 after optimisation. An airport slot is a specific time allocated for an aircraft to land or take off at an airport.

He said that the DIAL is also working with the governments of Delhi and Haryana to see how connectivity between Gurugram and the Delhi airport can be improved. "A few projects have been discussed, including one to establish direct connectivity between Lutyens Delhi (central Delhi) and the Delhi airport," he stated.

The Delhi airport is putting in place an artificial intelligence (AI) engine in Airport Operations Centre (APOC) that will study the flow of passenger movement and inform the airline, immigration personnel, security personnel and others so that they can immediately change their manpower strength. As the Delhi airport wants to become an aviation hub, it is developing a hotel just outside the T3 terminal. Moreover, it is thinking of establishing a hotel immediately outside the T1 terminal.

Currently 20 per cent of the passenger traffic at the Delhi airport is transfer traffic, domestic-to-international and international-to-international. "We are seeing how it can be increased to 30-35 per cent so that a hub development can take place," he noted.

About 15 per cent of the passengers that come to the Delhi airport are using the metro rail network of the city. He said DIAL wants to increase this share to 25 per cent. "We are working with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to open another baggage check-in facility at the Dwarka metro station. Currently, there are baggage check-in facilities at New Delhi metro station and Shivaji Stadium metro station," he said.

DIAL wants to increase awareness about baggage check-in facilities as only 10 per cent of the passengers coming from the two metro stations use them.

DIAL, along with airlines, has approached the Delhi government to reduce the value added tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) from 25 per cent to one per cent. This will bring Delhi airport on par with the upcoming Noida International Airport, which is coming up in Jewar as the Uttar Pradesh government imposes just one per cent VAT on ATF.

He, however, clarified that the lower VAT in itself will not be a major advantage for the Noida airport, which is being developed by Zurich Airport International AG. "Other tariffs at new airports are generally higher," he added.

The master planners, who are designing the expansion plans of the airport, are working with IndiGo and Air India – which hold about 85 pe cent share in the domestic passenger market – to incorporate their requirements into the airport infrastructure.

When asked if the Delhi airport is planning to have a dedicated terminal for a particular airline, he said all options remain open. The Delhi airport currently has three terminals.

DIAL plans

> In talks with Delhi govt to implement direct connectivity between “Lutyens Delhi” and airport

> Putting AI system to inform CISF, security personnel immediately about any jump in passenger flow

> Engaging with DMRC to start baggage check-in counter at Dwarka metro station

> DIAL and airlines have requested Delhi govt to reduce VAT on ATF, bringing it on par with Uttar Pradesh

> Wants to increase share or transit traffic from 20% to up to 35%