Delhi Airport authorities may reopen runway 10/28 after massive delays at IGIA, BA

Flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) have been severely impacted this month due to a mix of unseasonal weather patterns and the planned closure of runway 10/28, which has traditionally handled a significant portion of flight traffic.

The runway was shut from April 8 for an Instrument Landing System (ILS) upgrade, but the situation has now prompted a course correction by airport authorities.

The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which operates IGIA, is now preparing to make runway 10/28 operational again within a fortnight to ease delays during the peak summer travel season. According to a report by The Times of India (TOI), DIAL will allow flight movements on the runway using non-precision approaches until the full ILS upgrade resumes later this year.

“Even without ILS, non-precision approach landings can take place. So in a fortnight, the closed runway will be made available for non-precision approaches. That will increase IGI’s arrival capacity,” an airport insider told TOI.

The sudden decision follows days of extensive delays triggered by the early arrival of easterly winds, an uncommon phenomenon this early in the year. Under these conditions, aircraft can only land from the Dwarka side and take off toward Vasant Vihar, creating a bottleneck in operations.

The issue came to a head on Friday during a high-level meeting involving the civil aviation ministry, Airports Authority of India (AAI), air traffic control, DIAL, and airline representatives. Airlines raised concerns over the financial impact of altering their schedules.

In light of this, it was decided that runway 10/28 would temporarily resume operations during the summer rush and shut again for the ILS upgrade around mid-June, once traffic volumes decline.

Runway 10/28 was originally scheduled for closure from April 1 to allow upgrades ahead of the winter fog season. AAI’s internal review confirmed the limitations of closing the runway early.

“Without runway 10/28, IGI can handle a maximum of up to 32 arrivals when easterlies blow and up to 42 when westerlies blow,” an airport official told TOI.

However, easterlies arrived ahead of schedule this year, complicating things for both airport authorities and airlines. On April 11, a powerful thunderstorm further disrupted schedules.

As a result, airlines were asked to cut or reschedule flights to prevent excessive delays. Terminal 2 at IGIA has also been temporarily closed for renovation, further straining airport capacity during the summer rush.