Reopening of Delhi airport's CAT III runway delayed due to 'technical issues'

Reopening of Delhi airport’s CAT III runway delayed due to ‘technical issues’

Delhi airport’s main airstrip 28/10, which was supposed to be operational on January 19 after scheduled re-carpeting and refurbishment, will take at least a week more to be back in operations, an official statement said.

The Delhi airport said that due to “unforeseen technical issues” the system integration at the runway could not be completed on time.

The 28/10 runway is 3,813 metres long and 45 metres wide. It is CAT III compliant, which means it can operate in low visibility. The runway has been closed due to re-carpeting work since mid-September of 2023.

“It is expected to be completed in 8 to 10 days. Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is working diligently with its partner Honeywell to complete the process soon,” Delhi airport said.

The airport further stated that the construction work and refurbishment of the 28/10 runway has successfully been completed.

This came after the Delhi airport told the Civil Aviation Ministry last week that the G20 Summit and the imposition of GRAP-IV anti-pollution measures in the national capital caused a delay in operationalising the 28/10 runway. It said that the refurbishment project could only be taken up after the G20 Summit.

Meanwhile, Delhi airport said that its newly constructed fourth runway will also become CAT III compliant on January 26. With this, of the four runways at the airport, three will be CAT III compliant.

At the moment, runways 28/10 and 29L/11R – closest to Gurugram side – are CAT III compliant, while the other two airstrips, 1L/29R and 09/27 are not CAT IIIB-compliant.

“Post completion of rehabilitation work, Delhi airport would become future-ready for undertaking operations with its full capacity. The passenger handling capacity of its three terminals would increase to 100 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and the airside capacity will enhance to handle 140 MPPA,” the statement read.

This development came close on the heels of massive chaos at the airport over the past few weeks owing to low to zero visibility in Delhi, triggered by severe fog in North India. The harsh weather conditions due to intense cold wave in the region and fog caused the airport to shut its only operational CAT III-compliant runway 29L/11R for a few hours on January 14.

Additionally, the Delhi airport also wrote to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) about a crane blocking the view on the Gurugram end of the 29L/11R airstrip, which implied that one side of the only operational CAT III-compliant runway is unviable for landings during low visibility.

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