Delhi airport’s main runway to reopen this week, says Civil Aviation Minister

Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, announced on January 17 that the second CAT IIIB runway at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport will be operational this week. 

Scindia mentioned that the implementation of GRAP IV measures led to delays in making the CAT IIIB compliant runway at Delhi Airport operational.

Runway 28/10 has been closed for scheduled re-carpeting since mid-September and the project was scheduled to be over by December 15, 2023. 

The Delhi Airport had told the Ministry of Civil Aviation that there was a delay in operationalising the main airstrip 28/10 as the rehabilitation project could only be taken up after the G20 Summit. The work also got disrupted by the imposition of GRAP IV measures in Delhi.

Responding to a tweet by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor about the chaos at Delhi Airport, Scindia said that runway maintenance work is a critical safety element for aviation operations, and any compromise with runway conditions directly jeopardises passenger safety.

"The maintenance was taken on top priority to be completed by 15th December before the onset of the fog season. However, due to pollution incidents and enforcement of GRAP-IV in Delhi, the recarpeting got delayed, resulting in a delay of one month in its commissioning. The revamped RWY is getting operational this week," he posted on X (formerly Twitter).