Delhi: IGI runway work may hit 100 flights daily

Hindustan Times

23-05-2025

Passengers flying through Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport could face significant inconvenience starting next month, with airport authorities deciding to cancel and reschedule about 100 flights daily during a crucial runway maintenance period.
Approximately 50 flights will be cancelled and another 50 rescheduled starting June 15 until mid-September, three officials aware of the matter told HT, detailing plans for when runway 28/10 will be shut to upgrade the Instrument Landing System (ILS) to CAT III B standards—instruments that help pilots land in low visibility conditions common during Delhi's foggy winters.
The slashing of services comes after a similar attempt in April led to widespread chaos in flight schedules at the country's busiest airport, forcing authorities to abandon the work.
An average of 721 arrivals and around an equal number of departures have been scheduled for the typical day during this period, one of the officials said. 'After reviewing air traffic flow and aircraft rotations and operational dependencies, about 100 individual flights will need to be either cancelled or shifted to off-peak hours,' the official cited above said.
A second official added that during a meeting chaired by Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman Vipin Kumar on Wednesday, major Indian airlines (Air India group, IndiGo, Akasa Air and SpiceJet) presented a revised flight schedule. 'The new schedule is expected to be filed (with the ministry as per the rule) in the next week,' the official added.
IndiGo and Air India, which have the largest number of services at IGI Airport and therefore need to make most of the adjustments, did not respond to requests for a comment.
The April crisis exposed critical coordination gaps in India's aviation ecosystem. Despite being informed well in advance about the runway closure, airlines had not reduced their flight operations, triggering delays that cascaded throughout the country. The work, which began on April 8, was stopped and the runway reopened on May 5 after Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu intervened following widespread passenger complaints and a parliamentary standing committee expressed concerns over the disruptions.
The decision to suspend the work and reopen the runway was made keeping in mind the peak summer season travel during April and May, officials said. The April closure resulted in Delhi airport's arrival capacity dropping from about 46 flights per hour to around 36, particularly affecting operations when easterly winds were in effect.
A third official said the June-15 to September window is likely to be leaner. 'It's better to take a small hit now than face large-scale delays when the fog sets in. This is all about being better prepared for winter,' this person, who is with the aviation ministry, said, asking not to be named.
'Authorities have worked closely with airlines to ensure these adjustments have minimal impact on passengers,' the first official cited above said. 'Cancellations have been targeted on routes where airlines operate multiple daily flights and where demand is relatively lower, so seat availability on alternate flights remain sufficient.'
'We will be in the non-peak summer period, which means flights are operating with lower load factors; around 70 to 75 percent, compared to 85 percent or more during peak travel times,' a ministry official said. 'This gives us more flexibility to adjust the schedule with minimal disruption.'
'Flights are mainly being rescheduled from peak to non-peak hours to stay within the airport's limited capacity during critical periods,' an airline official requesting anonymity said. 'Airlines are acting in coordination with airport operators and the civil aviation ministry to prevent major disruption later in the year (in the winter).'
The coordinated approach this time contrasts sharply with April, when airlines maintained full schedules despite advance notice of the runway closure.
Ministry officials said that the updated schedules expected to be filed by airlines next week will give passengers weeks' notice to plan their travel accordingly—unlike April when many passengers faced last-minute delays and cancellations.
'Passengers will be able to choose their flights as per the new schedule, avoiding the chaos that occurred last month,' the official said.