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NEW DELHI: Life may come full circle for Delhi airport’s oldest Terminal 2 before it makes way for a swank new T4, expected latest by 2032. The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) is looking at making T2 an all-international terminal — the way it was when it opened in 1986 — as a “short-term option” to handle growing foreign traffic, CEO VidehKumar Jaipuriar told TOI Monday.Currently, only T3 handles international flights atIGI Airport.
The “medium-term” option is converting one of the two domestic piers at T3 into an international one, a process that will take more than a year from when work starts. These options are being considered as the combined capacity of IGIA’s three terminals at present is 7.4 crore passengers annually (CPA), of which 2.1 crore is for international and rest for domestic. By February, T1’s ongoing expansion will be complete and IGIA’s combined capacity will leapfrog to 10.9 CPA, giving a big boost to domestic carriage while international will remain almost the same.
“We are expecting to handle 5.4 crore domestic and 1.7 crore international passengers this fiscal (Apr 1, 2023- to March 31, 2024). Once we start giving more slots from next summer, international carriage could hit the 2.1-crore mark next fiscal. So options are being examined to remain ahead of the curve and be ready capacity-wise to handle more foreign passengers when the need arises,” Jaipuriar said. “The long-term option is to demolish the 1.5-CPA T2 and build a much bigger T4 with a capacity of 4 CPA.” Sources say T4 will be built as per demand. Which means by 2030 or 2032, depending on rapid or slower growth, respectively. It will take about three years to build a new terminal of this scale.
The IGI airport currently handles around 1,270 aircraft movements daily, as opposed to a peak of just under 1,500 pre-Covid, said the CEO. By next summer, all four runways will be operational (the main airstrip is currently closed for repairs) and the bigger T1 will be ready. Thanks to IndiGo and Air India’s massive growth plans and Akasa saying it will add planes too, air traffic could increase significantly overcoming the setback caused by the collapse of GoAir — unless the unending issues of Pratt & Whitney engines force even more groundings and again spoil the party.
The possibility of having an international wing at T1 is also being examined, say sources. In May 2006 when Delhi Airport was privatised and GMR Group took over, the master plan approved then envisaged building T3 in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. However, traffic rose so rapidly that a new T1 had to be built before that. “The way traffic is growing, taking T2’s 1.5 CPA out to build T4 will require something similar which could be T1’s international wing. Also, T1 is the low-cost carrier hub and they need an international wing close by for synergy. DIAL has to do something in the interim before T4 is ready,” said an airline official, echoing the sentiment of other airlines too.
The “medium-term” option is converting one of the two domestic piers at T3 into an international one, a process that will take more than a year from when work starts. These options are being considered as the combined capacity of IGIA’s three terminals at present is 7.4 crore passengers annually (CPA), of which 2.1 crore is for international and rest for domestic. By February, T1’s ongoing expansion will be complete and IGIA’s combined capacity will leapfrog to 10.9 CPA, giving a big boost to domestic carriage while international will remain almost the same.
“We are expecting to handle 5.4 crore domestic and 1.7 crore international passengers this fiscal (Apr 1, 2023- to March 31, 2024). Once we start giving more slots from next summer, international carriage could hit the 2.1-crore mark next fiscal. So options are being examined to remain ahead of the curve and be ready capacity-wise to handle more foreign passengers when the need arises,” Jaipuriar said. “The long-term option is to demolish the 1.5-CPA T2 and build a much bigger T4 with a capacity of 4 CPA.” Sources say T4 will be built as per demand. Which means by 2030 or 2032, depending on rapid or slower growth, respectively. It will take about three years to build a new terminal of this scale.
The IGI airport currently handles around 1,270 aircraft movements daily, as opposed to a peak of just under 1,500 pre-Covid, said the CEO. By next summer, all four runways will be operational (the main airstrip is currently closed for repairs) and the bigger T1 will be ready. Thanks to IndiGo and Air India’s massive growth plans and Akasa saying it will add planes too, air traffic could increase significantly overcoming the setback caused by the collapse of GoAir — unless the unending issues of Pratt & Whitney engines force even more groundings and again spoil the party.
The possibility of having an international wing at T1 is also being examined, say sources. In May 2006 when Delhi Airport was privatised and GMR Group took over, the master plan approved then envisaged building T3 in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. However, traffic rose so rapidly that a new T1 had to be built before that. “The way traffic is growing, taking T2’s 1.5 CPA out to build T4 will require something similar which could be T1’s international wing. Also, T1 is the low-cost carrier hub and they need an international wing close by for synergy. DIAL has to do something in the interim before T4 is ready,” said an airline official, echoing the sentiment of other airlines too.
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