New traffic plan for passengers arriving at Delhi’s domestic airport

DMRC and the airport developer have decided to shut the road in front of the arrival hall as the corporation has to dig a tunnel below it to connect airport to the Metro station.

If you are going to pick up someone from domestic terminal of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) next month, you will have to follow a new traffic plan. Even the passengers arriving at the terminal will have to take a different road to board a taxi.

A U-shaped road has been constructed near the airport boundary wall for receiving passengers from next month. Numbered pillars will be installed in front of the new pickup points to guide visitors (Ajay Aggarwal/HT Photo)

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the airport developer have decided to shut the road in front of the arrival hall as the corporation has to dig a tunnel below it to connect airport to the upcoming Metro station on Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden line. However, a U-shaped road has been constructed near the airport boundary wall to receive the passengers. The new plan is likely to be implemented from the first week of June. Sources said that DMRC will take at least two months to finish the work.

Read: IGI airport’s domestic terminal on Delhi Metro grid this year

“We are constructing a 90-degree tunnel to connect the terminal with the upcoming metro station. The tunnel, which will be 160-metre straight and then 120-metre left is below the road where the pickup point for passengers is located currently. There will be no inconvenience to the passengers,” said a DMRC official.

“The pillars will be placed in front of the new pickup points so that passengers don’t get lost. The pillars are going to be numbered and signages will be put up to guide passengers,” the official said.

An airport official said that guards will be posted at the gate of arrival hall to guide passengers to the new route. The tunnel, for which DMRC is closing the main road, will have walkalators for passengers.

Read: Tunnel will connect Delhi airport’s Terminal 1 with Metro station

“The station box will be among the longest with a length of 312.2 metres. Normally, underground stations are around 260-metre-long. The station will have five entry/exit points. While there will be two subways, another entry will be will cater to Mehram Nagar, which is an adjacent residential area. The fourth entry/ exit point will be near the police station building and the fifth will be just before the ramp to the departure area of the airport,” said a DMRC spokesperson.

As per the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the estimated ridership of this station in 2016 will be 66,405 and in 2021, it will increase to 97,184. Terminal 1 currently handles 30000 passengers every day.