The Hindu : New Delhi News : Efforts on for smooth air traffic

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Tuesday, Oct 30, 2007
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Efforts on for smooth air traffic

Staff Reporter

Airline operators to discuss measures for tackling flight delays due to fog

— Photo: V.V. Krishnan

IN FULL SWING: The Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd has completed 50 per cent of work on the third runway (11-29) being constructed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

NEW DELHI: Delhi International Airport (Private) Limited (DIAL) will meet representatives of national and international airlines next week to discuss the situation arising out of flight delays that become a common thing because of fog during winter.

“We will be meeting all the airline operators some time next week to check their sense of preparedness for fog-delayed flights in winter,” said Chief Operating Officer of Airport Development Andrew Harrison at a press conference here on Monday.

Briefing the media about the developments on the Integrated Passenger Terminal (T3) and new runway, Mr. Harrison said in cases of flight delays efforts would be made to ensure that speedy and better information is provided to passengers beforehand and more comfort and convenience is extended to them.

“Just like last year, we will carry out a temporary extension of Terminal 1B so that passengers do not have much inconvenience in case of rush during flight delays,” added Chief Development Officer I. Prabhakara Rao.

About the concerns on rising dust levels near the airport due to ongoing construction activities, Mr. Rao said necessary measures like regular sprinkling of water by water tanks had been taken to check the problem.

Asked if the airline operators were miffed because the space allotted to their offices under the proposed expansion of arrival terminal (domestic) would be brought down from 1,100 square metres to 600 square metres, Mr. Harrison said: “We do not want the airlines’ offices to be inside the terminal. Only the offices supporting the terminal operations can be there.”

Addressing reporters on the construction site of the third runway (11-29), Mr. Harrison said it would feature CAT IIIB Instrument Landing System at both ends which would allow landings in visibility as low as 50 metres.

“Work on the runway and associated taxiways is more than 50 per cent complete and the runway will be commissioned in mid-2008. This new runway will increase the airport’s capacity to handle aircraft movements substantially, making flight delays and congestion a thing of the past,” he said.

Talking about the “dynamic” integrated passenger terminal —Terminal 3 — in his presentation, Mr. Rao said it would have a capacity to cater to 27 million passengers a day.

Spread across 20 acres, the building will serve both domestic and international passengers through 168 common use check-in counters. There will also be an advanced five-level in-line baggage screening system to provide efficiency and security.

“About 7.47 per cent of progress has been made so far on the construction work for Terminal 3. There will be 48 immigration desks and 50 emigration desks. Passengers can board aircrafts through 75 aerobridges spread across four boarding piers, which can be interchanged between domestic and international operations. Even the most modern airports in the world do not have such a high number or aerobridges. The construction will be finished in less than four years, which will perhaps be a record on its own,” Mr. Rao explained.

The construction work on the passenger terminal building and boarding piers is in full swing with the building scheduled for inauguration by March 2010, before the Commonwealth Games-2010.

The overall cost of the modernisation project will be about Rs.8,900 crore, while GMR was given the contract of the IGI airport at Rs.5,400 crore in 2006.

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