The Ministry of Civil Aviation has confirmed plans to temporarily shut down one of the key runways at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport from mid-June to mid-September, triggering adjustments in flight operations.
The move comes as part of a scheduled upgrade to Runway 28/10’s Instrument Landing System (ILS) to CAT III B standards, a crucial enhancement for safe landings during winter fog. Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu, addressing media on the sidelines of the ‘Wings India 2026’ curtain-raiser, said the Centre is in talks with airlines and other stakeholders to ensure the runway closure causes minimal disruption to passengers and scheduled flights. “Discussions are ongoing to coordinate changes and minimise impact,” Naidu said, noting that the runway’s technological upgrade is necessary for improving landing capacity under low-visibility conditions.
Delhi Airport, currently operating with four runways—09/27, 11R/29L, 11L/29R, and 28/10—will have to manage its daily traffic load of roughly 1,400 flights with just three runways. The airport’s Terminal 2 is also shut for maintenance, increasing pressure on the already busy T1 and T3. An earlier attempt to shut Runway 28/10 in April was halted within weeks due to significant flight delays and cancellations. Learning from that experience, airport authorities are resuming the project during the monsoon season when overall flight volumes are relatively lower. Reports suggest that nearly 50 daily flights will be cancelled during the shutdown, while another 50 are expected to be moved to off-peak hours. Revised flight schedules are expected to be released in advance to help passengers and airlines plan better.
Authorities remain optimistic that the timing and planning of the shutdown will enable smoother operations without causing the kind of disruptions seen earlier this year.
