The taxiing time of aircraft at New Delhi’s airport, from one runway to another, will reduce by 25 minutes through the construction of a 2.4km elevation that will link two of three runways there.
The third runway is reserved for VIP movements when the other two are busy.
The two main runways are strategically positioned such that runway 28 serving domestic flights is closer to domestic Terminal 1 and runway 29, used mainly for international flights is nearer to international Terminal 3.
Currently, if an aircraft wants to travel from one runway to another, it needs to taxi 7km (30 minutes) to the far end of the airport, down the entire runway and then to the other. This has reduced the airport’s aircraft movement capacity from 75 to 65 per hour and burns close to 5,000 litres of air turbine fuel per hour.
“Construction of the eastern cross taxiway – connecting runway 28 and runway 29 — will allow flexibility and assist in balancing the traffic on runways, particularly during busy hours,” says Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).
The new link/taxiway will be built at a height of 5.5 metre and will have a 2.5 metre security wall. Its completion date hasn’t been announced yet.