With 4 Runways, Delhi's IGIA To Soon Become World's Largest Airport: Aviation Ministry

The rapid expansion of the Delhi International Airport will make it one of the largest, surpassing the Atlanta airport, which is widely considered as the biggest airport in the world.

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The Indian aviation industry is growing at a rapid pace and at the heart of it is the exponential infrastructure development in India under the current BJP regime led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India built 74 small and big airports in the past 9 years, similar to what previous governments had built till 2014 since independence in 1947. Among these, the Delhi International Airport, also known as the Indira Gandhi International Airport is the largest and busiest domestic as well as the international airport. The IGIA's capacity has risen in the past few years and since Covid-19, the airport has become one of the largest in the world. 

Speaking at a conclave recently, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation said that the Delhi International Airport can soon become the world's largest airport. The massive expansion of the airport will make it one of the biggest in the world, surpassing the Atlanta airport, which is widely considered as the biggest airport in the world (passenger capacity wise).

“At present, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport currently caters to 70 million passengers and this number is likely to increase to 109 million by the end of this year. It is the only Indian airport with three runways. Delhi’s new runway and the fourth runway are likely to be operational in September. It will become one of the largest airports in the world even beyond Atlanta airport," said Scindia.

The Delhi International Airport will soon get its fourth runway, making it the only airport in India to have 4 runways. There are three terminal buildings in the IGIA and the passenger capacity is expected to surpass 100 million by the end of 2023. 

Speaking on the aircrafts in India, he said that India will be needing 1200 planes in the next 5 years. "Aircraft capacity of 400 in 2013 has now grown to 700 today and in the next 5 years, this number will increase to 1200. Along with increasing fleet capacity, Civil Aviation will expand to tier 2 and tier 3 cities," he added.

"Last-mile connectivity is very important, focusing more on 20-seater aircraft and other small-size aircraft to connect more secluded areas of the country. Udaan 4.2 is more in smaller aircraft containing 182 aircraft routes and in the coming months Udaan 5.2 will be launched,” Scindia further said.

Talking about the infrastructure in India, he said that the Civil aviation has doubled in the last 9 years. For 2030, he expects the industry to grow from 14.5 crore passengers to 45 crore passengers. "India has built 74 airports, post-independence till 2014 and in the last 9 years, we have built 74 airports and heliports. There is a huge potential to be explored both in terms of passenger traffic and infrastructure," he said.

"We have close to 98000 crore capex plans in place in the next 3 to 4 years for aviation. This will be driven by both the private and public sectors through the Airport Authority of India. This will cover 42 brownfield airports and 3 greenfield airports. Currently, there are 6 metros in the country and they generate around 220 million on an annual basis. This throughout is likely to increase to 425 million after adding Mumbai and Jewar metros" Scindia added.