GMR-led Delhi International Airport (Dial) on Tuesday informed the civil aviation ministry that the fourth runway at the airport, which is CAT III-enabled and under refurbishment, will be functional by January 26.
In a letter to the ministry on Tuesday, Dial said that the company is targeting to complete all activities by January 19 for inspection by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
As reported earlier, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had on Monday directed Dial to expedite the operationalisation of the CAT III-enabled fourth runway, in addition to the existing CAT III-enabled runway, to avoid delays due to dense fog in Delhi.
Currently, there are four runways at the Delhi airport. Of these, two are CAT III-enabled. One of this is operational, while the other is under refurbishment. Post-January 26, there would be two CAT III-enabled runway. Dial plans to turn one more runway CAT III-compliant by the summer this year.
When a runway is CAT-III-compliant, flight operations can happen even in low-visibility conditions, but not in zero visibility.
In its reply to the ministry on Tuesday, Dial said that it had planned the refurbishment of the runway in the earlier part of 2023 but had to defer it due to G-20 Summit in India. “It may be noted that Dial could only take the rehabilitation project after G-20 Summit and after operationalisation of the fourth runway for arrivals. Accordingly, duration available for the project was compressed from September 23 till December 15, 2023,” Dial has said in its communication to the civil aviation ministry.
It added that delays beyond December 15 2023, took place because of the disruption in raw material supply chain for civil works due to implementation of Grap-IV (Graded Response Action Plan) in the Capital to check poor air quality. It also added delays in imports of certain equipment like lights, configuration of software, etc.
As reported, on Sunday, 10 flights were diverted, many were cancelled and delayed, resulting in long waiting hours for passengers at the airport as well as inside aircraft, and many passengers took to social media to express their anguish.
At the airport on Sunday, a passenger assaulted an IndiGo pilot when he was making an announcement of flight delay onboard the aircraft that was to fly to Goa.
Scindia also directed DGCA on Monday to issue an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) to ensure better communication and facilitation of passengers to minimise discomfort in view of flight cancellations and delays due to adverse weather. Following it, later in the day the aviation regulator issued a set of SOPs whereby airlines will have to cancel sufficiently in advance flights that are expected to be delayed by over three hours and inform passengers in real-time about flight status.