Monsoon likely to further delay Delhi airport's runway refurbishment

DIAL stated on Sunday that it had asked airlines to adjust their flight schedules in response to easterly wind conditions

The upcoming monsoon, which is expected to be above average in India, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), along with the early onset of the fog and smog season, as witnessed last year, could further delay the refurbishment of Runway 10/28 at the Delhi International Airport (DIAL), sources told Business Standard on Monday. 

DIAL closed Runway 10/28 for flight operations on April 8 to upgrade its instrument landing system (ILS), enabling low-visibility operations such as “CAT-III B landings”, which allow aircraft to land in visibility as low as 50 metres. GMR Group-led DIAL aimed to complete the refurbishment before the onset of the fog season in November.  

However, soon after shutting Runway 10/28, the wind direction changed over the airport, with easterly winds dominating the skies, leading to hundreds of flight delays during the past four to five days.  Under Westerly winds, airport runways can handle up to 42 arrivals per hour but under Easterly winds, the runway can handle no more than 32 landings per hour. Delhi airport has four runways — 11R/29L, 11L/29R, 10/28, and 09/27.  

  DIAL said on Sunday that it had asked airlines to adjust their flight schedules in response to Easterly wind conditions. However, the airlines did “minimal” changes and this led to significant “operational” challenges for DIAL and air traffic control, causing 

considerable inconvenience for passengers. 

Under pressure due to flight delays, DIAL said that Runway 10/28 will be back in service in the first week of May, with the upgrade activities being put on pause for about a month.  

Sources within the government and the industry have expressed concern that once the upgrade work resumes in June, it may be impacted by the monsoon and the early onset of winter, similar to last year. “The IMD has already forecast an above-average monsoon season this year, which raises the possibility that Runway 10/28 may not be ready for CAT-III B ILS operations in time for the winter season,” an airline executive said.