Interminable wait to dock

Domestic flights landing at Delhi airport’s new runway have to taxi for about 45 minutes to reach the domestic terminal area. It takes less time to fly down from Delhi to Jaipur or Chandigarh.

Domestic flights landing at Delhi airport’s new runway have to taxi for about 45 minutes to reach the domestic terminal area. It takes less time to fly down from Delhi to Jaipur or Chandigarh.

HT Image

The congestion in the airspace over Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has its roots on the ground.

“Airports in other international cities handle many more flights than Delhi, but they also have much better infrastructure
to deal with the congestion,” said a senior air traffic controller (ATC) on condition of anonymity, as he not authorised to talk to the media.

Anamika Saraf (name changed on request), a Lajpat Nagar resident, had a nightmarish experience on Tuesday while flying back from Jaipur. “The IndiGo flight reached Delhi on time around 2 pm, but then the pilot announced that due to air traffic congestion, we will have to wait for landing,” she said.

“The plane hovered above IGI airport for more than half an hour and I was feeling nauseous throughout,” she said. “Even after landing, the plane kept on taxiing for nearly 40 minutes before reaching the parking area.”

The new runway 29/11, opened in September 2008, has helped in bringing down congestion at the airport but its distance from the domestic apron means domestic aircraft have to cover a distance of 9km to reach the domestic apron area. The taxiing time comes close to 45 minutes.

Things are expected to improve when all airport operations shift to Terminal 3, which is expected to open sometime in July 2010.