Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which runs the Indira Gandhi International Airport announced on Wednesday that Terminal 2 (T2) would be shut down for four to five months starting from April, reported news agency PTI.
DIAL also stated that one of the runways in the airport would be closed down at the same time to upgrade it.
Also Read: Diverted American Airlines flight expected to land in Delhi on Feb 26:Officials
IGI airport has a total of three terminals (T1, T2, T3), which have the capacity to carry more than 109 million passengers. T2 also has a capacity of around 15 million which will be moved to T1 while it is temporarily shut down. T1 has an annual passengers capacity of 40 million.
Also Read: At Delhi’s IGI Airport, business class, peak-hour flyers may have to pay higher charges. Here’s why
DIAL CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar told PTI that T1 would be fully ready by March 15 and could start and flights could begin operating once it met the required standards for approval.
Due to increasing air traffic, DIAL will also be converting a part of T3 – Pier C – which is usually used for domestic operations into a section for international flights.
DIAL CEO Jaipuriar said that the conversion of Pier C into an international section would ensure that the international capacity will become 32 million.
“This will take care (of the capacity) for the next four to five years as per the airlines’ projections, ” he said. The T3 had been designed with an international capacity of 34 million and is now handling 45 million passengers.
He added, “Average international load is around 67,000 to 68,000 per day. If you multiply that with 365, it comes to close to 24 million. The rated capacity for the international terminal T3 is 20 million. In fact, we are sweating the asset to the tune of 20 per cent.”
Jaipuriar also announced that one of the runways will not be operational from April onwards for a period of four-five months because of an upgrade of the ILS (instrument landing system), which they are aiming to finish before the winter season.
With the upgrade, the runway will be CAT III B compliant, which will allow flights to operate effectively during low visibility conditions, such as due to fog in Delhi winters.