From July 13, Delhi airport’s 4th runway to be operational

New Delhi, July 7

The dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiways and the fourth runway at the Delhi airport will be operational from July 13, enhancing capacity amid growing air traffic, a senior official said on Friday.

The Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT), which is 2.1km long and can accommodate wide-body aircraft, will reduce the time spent on the tarmac by passengers after landing and before take-off of their flights.

It will also help in reducing aircraft emissions and enhance efficiency.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), which is also the country’s largest airport, currently has three operational runways and handles more than 1,500 aircraft movements every day.

With the fourth runway eventually, the airport will have enhanced capacity to handle more aircraft movements.

GMR Group Deputy Managing Director I Prabhakara Rao on Friday at a media briefing said the ECT and the fourth runway would be operational from July 13.

Those will be inaugurated by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

“The fourth runway and the ECT are a firm part of enhancing capacity (of the airport) and aligning with airlines’ growth in the future. We are going to be future-ready for that growth,” Rao told PTI after the briefing.

Both the ECT and the fourth runway are becoming operational at a time when the country’s domestic air traffic is on an upward trajectory and some airlines have placed huge aircraft orders as part of massive expansion plans.

The ECT will connect the Northern and Southern airfields on the Eastern side of the airport and will reduce the taxiing distance for an aircraft by 7 km. The distance an aircraft needs to cover after landing on the third runway and going to Terminal 1 (T1) will be reduced to 2 km from 9 km now.

“With the construction of the ECT, IGI Airport will become the only airport in India to have an elevated taxiway with roads passing below it,” a release said. The dual-lane ECT can handle wide-body aircraft, including A-380 and B-777 and B-747.

Each lane is 44m wide with a gap of 47m between those to allow simultaneous passage of two aircraft.