One of three runways at Delhi airport to be closed for 13 days starting 15 November; flight disruptions likely

New Delhi: Flights are likely to be disrupted at the airport in the national capital as one of the runways will be closed for repair work for 13 days starting 15 November, according to a communication. [caption id=“attachment_4386833” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), operated by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), is the busiest aerodrome in the country and has three runways. Runway 27/09 would be closed for “preventive repairs” next month while two other runways — 11/29 and 10/28 — would be operational. The airport handled 63.5 million passengers in 2017-18. The airport has around 1,300 flight movements every day. In a statement, DIAL said it was planning the closure of runway 27/09 to carry out preventive repairs. “The works are scheduled to be undertaken for 13-day duration starting from November 15, 2018. This will lower the capacity of IGI Airport by 50 arrivals and 50 departures per day in this duration,” a DIAL spokesperson said. The spokesperson also said these works are essential for safe aircraft operations and to avoid sudden disruptions that cause greater impact due to the time required for planning the logistics. According to an Air India official, around 200 domestic flight departures and arrivals are likely to be affected by the runway closure. A spokesperson for Vistara said the airline has decided to cancel as well as re-schedule some flights during the runway closure period. DIAL is a consortium led by the GMR group. Other stakeholders are the government-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Germany’s Fraport.