New Delhi: Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Friday inaugurated a new runway and a dual-way elevated taxiway at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi. With this, the IGI Airport, New Delhi, has become the first airport in the country to have four runways and becomes the first airport in the country to have an elevated taxiway.
The elevated taxiway or eastern cross taxiway (ECT) will help in enhancing the passenger experience by reducing time spent on the tarmac by flyers after landings and before take-offs. Furthermore, four runway operations and the ECT will significantly increase capacity at IGIA – making it capable of handling 1700+ movements.
The new runway is 4.40km long and about 45 metre wide, which is capable of handing wide-body aircraft, including A-380 and B-777. The dual-way elevated taxiway connects northern and southern airfields. The taxiway will help reduce taxi distance for aircraft by 7km and check carbon (CO2) emissions by 55,000 tonnes per year.
Speaking on the occasion, Scindia said “The civil aviation sector is not only contributing to the transportation sector but also becoming a key enabler in the rise of the economic power of India. Today is a landmark day for Indian civil aviation, both on infrastructure side and services side. The eastern cross taxiway is the first of its kind in India. Also, this elevated eastern cross taxiway (ECT) will see a reduction of almost 55 thousand tons of CO2 emission on annual basis.”
Also Read: Immigration bay of Delhi airport to undergo design change soon
Officials of the MoCA said that the ECT, along with the fourth runway and the new integrated Terminal 1, will make Delhi airport future-ready and fulfil the dream of creating a major International hub. Capacity along with technological intervention will further enhance the passenger experience. The northern part of the airfield and the southern part of the airfield will be conveniently connected by this. It means an 8 to 9 minute reduction in taxi time.
This runway makes Delhi Airport, the only airport in the country to have 4 runways. This runway along with the terminal expansion will add to creating capacity to serve more than 109 million people throughput which would crest and beat even Atlanta in its capability. With that capacity in place, we would be well positioned both on an infrastructure side and a capability side for creating the international civil aviation hub in India.
Also Read: MoCA launches facial recognition boarding at Delhi, 2 more airports
Union minister of state for civil aviation Vijay Kumar Singh, chairman, Airport Authority of India (AAI), Sanjeev Kumar and group chairman, GMR, GM Rao, were also present at the event.
