BackDelhi gets third runway, but will it end the congestion?
Delhi gets third runway, but will it end the congestion?
PremiumReady for more? An Air India plane lands on the new runway at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Thursday. Photograph: Harikrishna Katragadda / Mint
New Delhi: Delhi airport on Thursday got a new Rs1,000 crore runway, its third and the country’s longest, that can handle big planes such as Airbus A380.
With this, congestion that had become a nightmare for both passengers and operators at domestic and international flights should now be over. Peak hour capacity is now 35-40 landings and take-offs and currently the two existing runways handle nearly 700 flights a day.
Air India’s Boeing 777-300ER (extended range) aircraft was the first plane to land during trials of the 4,430m runway. It can handle widebodied aircraft such as Airbus A-380 and commercial operations will begin from 28 August.
The runway built by Delhi International Airport Ltd, or DIAL, a GMR Group-led consortium has been completed in a record 18 months, six months prior to its schedule.
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