New Delhi, 19 September (H.S.): The third runway (11R/29L) at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport will resume operations from Sunday, September 20. The runway was closed in February this year for rehabilitation and is being reopened after nearly seven months.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the operator of Indira Gandhi International Airport, officially announced the development on Saturday. DIAL said the runway had remained closed for the past seven months to facilitate extensive repair and upgradation work.

The private airport operator said the rehabilitation of Runway 11R/29L, the airport’s third runway, had been completed and that all necessary regulatory approvals required for its reopening had been obtained.

According to DIAL, the rehabilitation work, which began in February this year, involved several major upgrades, including resurfacing the runway, shifting forward the permanent threshold of Runway 29L, constructing a new Rapid Exit Taxiway (RET Z1), upgrading the airfield ground lighting system and strengthening the runway surface.

The company said the upgraded runway had been made operationally ready after completing all necessary inspections and verification procedures and securing the required regulatory clearances.

DIAL is a joint venture between the GMR Group-led consortium and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The third runway at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport was commissioned in 2008.

It may be noted that Delhi Airport, the country’s busiest airport, handles more than 1,300 flights daily through its four runways. The airport has an annual passenger handling capacity of 106 million.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar