The Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi has seen notable expansion over the years, with a current passenger handling capacity of around 105 million passengers per annum. The airport, set to be the busiest in the country, features intricate terminal designs, notable sustainability initiatives, facilities to enhance passenger experience and improved landside connectivity. Technology integration has further enhanced airport operations, positioning it as a key hub in the region while offering widespread connectivity to various international and domestic destinations. At a recent India Infrastructure conference, Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), GMR Aero, highlighted the ongoing developments at the airport, key initiatives undertaken to enhance efficiency, and future plans. Edited excerpts…
What has been your experience in managing and operating the Delhi Airport?
At the time we took control of the airport in 2006, the overall passenger volume was 16 million. It has since grown by about five times to reach 80 million, and the capacity has increased sixfold.
The journey, however, was not easy. We took charge of a brownfield airport, and since it was operational, the targets were very stringent. For example, all the terminals had to be refurbished within 100 days of taking over, which was successfully achieved. Delhi was to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010, and Terminal 3 (T3) had to be ready before that. We were given a total of 37 months. For a project of that size, it is one of the fastest executions within such a timeframe. To contextualise, Heathrow Terminal 5 in the UK took 52 months to complete.
Despite the strict timelines, we were very conscious of setting the right benchmarks. We partnered with international airport developers and engaged global experts for their expertise. While the total traffic was 16 million back then, we built T3 with a capacity of 34 million—a decision that paid off well later. The growth far exceeded our expectations. Today, we process more than 50 million passengers from T3.
“At Indira Gandhi International Airport, we have achieved key milestones on the sustainability front, which are now being seen as industry benchmarks.”
What were the key challenges in upgrading a brownfield asset?
There were several challenges, some of which continue to impact us even today. For instance, no utility or cable mapping was done for the older side of the airfield, so we still sometimes find it difficult to trace the cable layout.
That said, for everything that has been upgraded, all assets have now been mapped. We have completed the remodelling of Terminals 1 and 3 and are now entering the next stage, where we are carrying out geospatial mapping of all underground utility assets.
What measures are being taken to improve operational efficiency at the Delhi Airport?
First is airport predictive operations control. We have converted our airport operations control centre into a predictive model and have seen a measurable impact on waiting times. Security waiting time has been reduced by about 7 per cent, while entry gate waiting time has gone down by about 16 per cent. Immigration is another area where we have seen significant improvement, with about a 20 per cent reduction.
We now provide an hour-wise passenger profile daily in advance to all stakeholders, enabling them to plan the deployment of their manpower more efficiently.
Similarly, we have developed a unified turnaround management solution on the airside. It is currently in the proof-of-concept stage, and we are testing it across various use cases, such as helping airlines improve turnaround times, optimising taxi times, and enhancing stand allocation.
Digi Yatra, in my view, has been a game-changer. The adoption rate at Delhi Airport is about 30 per cent. In the past six months alone, close to 17 million passengers have used it. I have not seen any other biometric solution scale up at this pace.
“We undertake master planning for airport infrastructure every 10 years. The master plan for the coming decade is currently under way.”
What has been the progress on the sustainability front? What are the key initiatives?
At Indira Gandhi International Airport, we have achieved several key milestones on the sustainability front, which are now being seen as industry benchmarks.
We have received Level 5 under ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation, which means we are net zero in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. We are the first and only airport in India in the 70 million-plus category to have secured this accreditation.
We also have a net-zero waste-to-landfill certification. In addition, we have been declared a water-positive airport as per the Confederation of Indian Industry and NITI Aayog framework.
We are now working towards achieving net zero in Scope 3 emissions as well, continuously engaging with all stakeholders in the value chain to reduce the overall carbon footprint from airport operations and management.
What are the top considerations when designing and planning new infrastructure?
Infrastructure must be adaptable to future needs. For example, T3 originally had Piers A and B as international, and Piers C and D as domestic. However, at the design stage itself, we built in the flexibility to convert Pier C into an international pier as traffic grows, avoiding the need to shift immigration and customs functions to a new terminal. This foresight is helping us now, as we have already exceeded capacity at Piers A and B.
The conversion of Pier C is already under way, and by April 2026, at the start of the summer schedule, it will be operational as an international terminal.
Similarly, in the current expansion phase, we developed an eastern cross taxiway. Earlier, a taxiway connection existed only on the western side, leading to longer taxi times for aircraft landing from certain directions.
The eastern cross taxiway has helped save an average of 10–12 minutes of taxi time, resulting in significant fuel, carbon, and cost savings.
Lastly, sustainability must be integrated at the design stage itself. T1 has a pre-certified platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating, which helps save both energy and water.
I believe integrating sustainability is the right choice, both environmentally and economically. While sustainable infrastructure may cost about 5–7 per cent more initially, the long-term savings in electricity and water are substantial.
“At a broader level, slow fleet induction remains a key issue.”
What are your plans for landside infrastructure expansion?
Whenever we plan capacity expansion, landside infrastructure is developed alongside it. For instance, during the T3 expansion, we added extra lanes to the central road.
The real challenge lies outside the airport. A recent study showed that roads such as National Highway (NH) 8 are highly congested due to non-airport traffic. Only about 17 per cent of the traffic on NH-8 is airport-bound, while 83 per cent is city traffic. This makes it imperative to expand civic infrastructure beyond the airport as well.
In this regard, we have been working closely with the government and collaborating on several projects, some of which have already been approved.
Over the next three to four years, as these are executed, the bottlenecks are expected to ease.
What are the key challenges facing the aviation sector in India?
In recent months, the evolving geopolitical scenario has significantly impacted the Indian aviation sector. Several international airspaces remain closed, forcing airlines to take longer, circuitous routes and incur higher costs.
At a broader level, slow fleet induction remains a key issue. While demand for air travel is surging, the availability of aircraft remains limited.
There is also a need for greater digital integration. Aviation generates vast amounts of data that can be leveraged for more efficient and cost-effective operations. At DIAL, we have trained our teams in no-code and low-code platforms, as well as artificial intelligence, and have identified 105 use cases where digitisation can add value.
How are you monetising data to improve non-aero revenues at the Delhi Airport?
We fully comply with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and do not use any personally identifiable data. In fact, we do not store such information in our systems.
However, we do leverage analytics. For instance, analytics help identify buying behaviour at duty-free outlets.
We have also observed interesting correlations between gate allocation and passenger spending. These insights help us optimise our offerings. So yes, we monetise data—but in a completely non-personalised manner.
What are the next big milestones for the Delhi Airport?
The next major milestone is the operationalisation of Pier C, which will increase international capacity by 50 per cent. We are also working on enhancing connectivity to North America. Today, Delhi Airport is better connected to Europe and North America than Singapore.
We undertake master planning for airport infrastructure every 10 years. The master plan for the coming decade is currently under way and is expected to be ready by June 2026. In the previous plan, we had already envisaged an additional pier for T3 in line with traffic projections.
