NEW DELHI: Massive flight delays at IGIA caused by a combination of the planned closure of Delhi Airport’s workhorse runway (10/28) from April 8 and “unseasonal” storms lashing the region since then, have forced authorities to decide on reopening this airstrip. Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) will make 10/28 available for flight movement in about a fortnight and then have all four runways operational to bridge the gap in the number of aircraft scheduled to fly in every hour versus the peak it can handle under the current circumstances which is at the root of the delays.
However till that happens, passengers will have to face serious delays whenever easterly winds blow in Delhi during which aircraft land from Dwarka side and take off towards Vasant Vihar side — something that has been happening regularly so far this month. An aircraft facing a delayed arrival at India’s busiest airport will be late for all the other flights it has to operate that day across the airline’s network domestic or international.
Runway 10/28 was closed for instrument landing system (ILS) upgrade and now that work could resume once the peak summer travel season gets over by about mid-June. While the closure was planned taken into account all factors to minimise inconvenience to flyers, “unseasonal” easterlies in past few days are causing massive delays in the ongoing peak travel season and have now led to the rethink in a meeting of all stakeholders called by the Union aviation ministry on Good Friday.
The genesis of the issue:
DIAL had last December sought the ministry’s approval to close runway 10/28 for ILS upgrade from around April 1, 2025, so that the work gets over in time for Delhi’s foggy winter and allows CAT III approaches. Starting and finishing this works in time was crucial. After all, IGIA had seen serious delays and diversions in 2023-24 winter as this runway did not have CAT III ILS on its 28 side (Vasant Vihar end) for a significant time and could not handle landings in dense fog because its repair work that summer was delayed. The 10 side has so far not had CAT III B ILS and is supposed to get one now after the now-deferred upgrade.
Airports Authority of India (AAI), which provides air navigation services, reviewed the impact on flight capacity the runway closure this summer would have. When easterlies (aircraft landing from Dwarka side) blow, departures can happen from two runways (09 and 11 left or 11L) and arrivals only on one (11 right or 11R). When westerlies (aircraft landing from Vasant Vihar side) blow — which is the case mostly this time of the year except for 2025 so far — runway 27 can be used in mixed mode to handle both arrivals and departures while runway 29L and 29R are used for only arrivals and departures, respectively. So depending on whether its peak arrival or departure time, two runways can be used for either during westerlies.
“Without runway 10/28, IGIA can handle a maximum of 32 arrivals when easterlies blow and 42 when westerlies blow. The domestic summer schedule of airlines was finalised estimating easterlies start blowing blow from May 15 and airlines will need to cut capacity during that period when runway 10/28 is closed,” said sources.
What really happened:
DIAL got the nod to shut down runway 10/28 from April 8. But from the start of the month itself, Delhi started seeing easterlies — much ahead of the expected mid-May — which were not seen to be lasting for very long. But instead of abating, Delhi saw a strong thunderstorm with winds reaching 74 kmph on April 11.
Air traffic control put their foot down. On April 11, they issued a NOTAM (notice to airmen) at 4 pm IST reiterating IGIA will be able to handle a maximum of 32 arrivals when easterlies blow and 42 when westerlies do with its three operational runways (no 10/28). April 11-12 alone saw over 400 flights being impacted. Even on Saturday, easterlies were blowing.
“The early advent of Easterlies has meant that almost 100 domestic arrivals of scheduled airlines at IGIA daily fall in hours where arrivals cross the maximum 32-arrivals-in-an-hour mark,” say sources. Airlines were then asked to cut flights due to “excessive ground and airborne delays”.
The emergency brainstorming:
With delays getting out of hand, the aviation ministry called AAI, air traffic control (ATC), airlines, DIAL and other stakeholders for a meeting on Friday. “Airlines were told about their 100 daily arrivals in IGIA that cumulatively spill over the 32-hourly mark. A majority (over 70%) of these flights could be shifted and some would need to be cancelled. Airlines said they will lose close to Rs 1,000 crore doing so,” said sources.
Then it was decided that DIAL should make runway 10/28 available at the earliest. “ILS allows for precision approaches for incoming aircraft. Without that, non-precision approach landings can happen. In about a fortnight, this runway will be made available for non-precision approaches. Once that happens, IGIA’s arrival capacity will increase. But till that happens, delays will happen whenever easterly winds blow,” said people in the know.
What next:
Now 10/28 could close around mid June. Hopefully when that happens, airlines would have cut and/or rescheduled flights in a way that meets the cap of 32 or 42 hourly arrivals to avoid delays. And unless 10/28 ILS upgrade gets over in time, the coming winter could also be bad for flyers like this summer has been so far in terms of delays.
However till that happens, passengers will have to face serious delays whenever easterly winds blow in Delhi during which aircraft land from Dwarka side and take off towards Vasant Vihar side — something that has been happening regularly so far this month. An aircraft facing a delayed arrival at India’s busiest airport will be late for all the other flights it has to operate that day across the airline’s network domestic or international.
Runway 10/28 was closed for instrument landing system (ILS) upgrade and now that work could resume once the peak summer travel season gets over by about mid-June. While the closure was planned taken into account all factors to minimise inconvenience to flyers, “unseasonal” easterlies in past few days are causing massive delays in the ongoing peak travel season and have now led to the rethink in a meeting of all stakeholders called by the Union aviation ministry on Good Friday.
The genesis of the issue:
DIAL had last December sought the ministry’s approval to close runway 10/28 for ILS upgrade from around April 1, 2025, so that the work gets over in time for Delhi’s foggy winter and allows CAT III approaches. Starting and finishing this works in time was crucial. After all, IGIA had seen serious delays and diversions in 2023-24 winter as this runway did not have CAT III ILS on its 28 side (Vasant Vihar end) for a significant time and could not handle landings in dense fog because its repair work that summer was delayed. The 10 side has so far not had CAT III B ILS and is supposed to get one now after the now-deferred upgrade.
Airports Authority of India (AAI), which provides air navigation services, reviewed the impact on flight capacity the runway closure this summer would have. When easterlies (aircraft landing from Dwarka side) blow, departures can happen from two runways (09 and 11 left or 11L) and arrivals only on one (11 right or 11R). When westerlies (aircraft landing from Vasant Vihar side) blow — which is the case mostly this time of the year except for 2025 so far — runway 27 can be used in mixed mode to handle both arrivals and departures while runway 29L and 29R are used for only arrivals and departures, respectively. So depending on whether its peak arrival or departure time, two runways can be used for either during westerlies.
“Without runway 10/28, IGIA can handle a maximum of 32 arrivals when easterlies blow and 42 when westerlies blow. The domestic summer schedule of airlines was finalised estimating easterlies start blowing blow from May 15 and airlines will need to cut capacity during that period when runway 10/28 is closed,” said sources.
What really happened:
DIAL got the nod to shut down runway 10/28 from April 8. But from the start of the month itself, Delhi started seeing easterlies — much ahead of the expected mid-May — which were not seen to be lasting for very long. But instead of abating, Delhi saw a strong thunderstorm with winds reaching 74 kmph on April 11.
Air traffic control put their foot down. On April 11, they issued a NOTAM (notice to airmen) at 4 pm IST reiterating IGIA will be able to handle a maximum of 32 arrivals when easterlies blow and 42 when westerlies do with its three operational runways (no 10/28). April 11-12 alone saw over 400 flights being impacted. Even on Saturday, easterlies were blowing.
“The early advent of Easterlies has meant that almost 100 domestic arrivals of scheduled airlines at IGIA daily fall in hours where arrivals cross the maximum 32-arrivals-in-an-hour mark,” say sources. Airlines were then asked to cut flights due to “excessive ground and airborne delays”.
The emergency brainstorming:
With delays getting out of hand, the aviation ministry called AAI, air traffic control (ATC), airlines, DIAL and other stakeholders for a meeting on Friday. “Airlines were told about their 100 daily arrivals in IGIA that cumulatively spill over the 32-hourly mark. A majority (over 70%) of these flights could be shifted and some would need to be cancelled. Airlines said they will lose close to Rs 1,000 crore doing so,” said sources.
Then it was decided that DIAL should make runway 10/28 available at the earliest. “ILS allows for precision approaches for incoming aircraft. Without that, non-precision approach landings can happen. In about a fortnight, this runway will be made available for non-precision approaches. Once that happens, IGIA’s arrival capacity will increase. But till that happens, delays will happen whenever easterly winds blow,” said people in the know.
What next:
Now 10/28 could close around mid June. Hopefully when that happens, airlines would have cut and/or rescheduled flights in a way that meets the cap of 32 or 42 hourly arrivals to avoid delays. And unless 10/28 ILS upgrade gets over in time, the coming winter could also be bad for flyers like this summer has been so far in terms of delays.
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