India’s First Ever Elevated Highway Operational At Indira Gandhi International Airport

The first ever dual elevated ECT (eastern cross taxiways) in the country as well as a fourth runway will be operational from 13th July at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The distance that an aircraft will need to cover after it lands on the third runway will minimize from 9 km to 2 km. The waiting time for the planes will reduce from 25 minutes to just 10 minutes as well.

Aircraft will not spend much time after landing and before taking off

According to DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited), Jyotiraditya Scindia, the civil aviation minister, inaugurated the fourth runway and the ECT on 13th July. The aircraft will not take much time to spend on the tarmac while taking off and also after landing. Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi will become the first airport in India to have an elevated taxiway under which roads will run. As per the deputy MD of GMR Group, I Prabhakara Rao, the taxiing time for the flyers will also reduce considerably to approximately 10 to 12 minutes.

Right now, approximately 1500 ATMs (air traffic movements) are taking place at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on a regular basis. However, we all expect that there will be a rise in the number of air traffic movements with the introduction of the fourth runway and the ECT. However, it is quite difficult to predict exactly how much the number will increase unless the introduction of the new runway and the ETC takes place. Furthermore, there will be different aspects such as the direction of the wind as well as the landing of the aircraft on the runway that will determine the movement on the ETC in the long run.

Here, we like to mention that the taxiway present in the airport is going to link the northern and southern airfields on the east side. The new runway mentioned here is 4,400 m in length and 75 m in width. It is running parallel to the southern part’s 11/29 runway. The authorities have constructed the ECT for reducing the emissions from the aircraft, minimizing the distance for taxiing of the aircraft, as well as increasing operational competence plus conserving ATF and other natural resources.

It is worth mentioning that one particular consortium under the authority of GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd is actually regulating the IGIA. There will be as many as four runways right now in the airport, namely, RW 11R/29L, RW 09/27, RW 10/28 as well as RW 11L/29R।.

Civil aviation sector responsible for the economic development of India

According to the civil aviation minister, the civil aviation sector is contributing significantly to the development of the economic strength of India right now. Before inaugurating the ECT and the new runway of the airport, he also added that the ambition of India is quite high and it is just the beginning of the advancement of the civil aviation sector.

J. M. Rao, the group chairman of GMR Group has mentioned that the fourth runway as well as the ECT will play a significant role in enhancing the operational efficiency of the Indira Gandhi International Airport.