Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurates Delhi Airport's fourth runway, elevated taxiway

The Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital is now the only airport in India to have dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiway with roads passing below it.

New Delhi: In a major boost to the aviation industry, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday inaugurated the Delhi airport' fourth runway and the Eastern Cross Taxiway at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital. Being the country's largest airport, the IGI handles over 1,500 aircraft movements every day.

Officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry said that the Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT), which is 2.1 kilometres long, will reduce the time spent on the tarmac by passengers after landing and before take-off of flights. "This is also going to help reduce the waiting time of passengers in the airplane who are waiting to get off," they added. This makes the IGIA the only airport in India to have dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiways with roads passing below it.

The Taxiway connects the northern and southern airfields on the eastern side of the IGI airport. This is going to reduce the taxiing distance for an aircraft by seven kilometers. Officials said that it can handle wide-body aircraft, including A-380 and B-777 and B-747.

"Now, the airport will have four runways -- RW 09/27, RW 11R/29L, RW 10/28 and RW 11L/29R," they added. IGIA is operated by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), a consortium led by GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd. Earlier, it was reported that the taxiway in the national capital will also help in reducing annual CO2 emissions by 55,000 tonnes, which was in line with the country's goal to achieve a 'Net Zero Carbon Emission Airport' by 2030.

Jyotiraditya Scindia in a Tweet in Hindi said, "This is a historic step in the direction of easy air travel and making India a global aviation hub. Delhi Airport has become the first airport in the country to have 4 runways. With this development in the infrastructure sector as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India will enter a new era of aviation and open up unlimited possibilities."

Union Minister General (Retired) VK Singh was also present for the inauguration along with the Union Civil Aviation Minister.