Delhi Airport’s Runway 10/28 Reopens Ahead of Schedule, Easing Flight Delays

Runway 10/28 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, which had been closed for nearly a month, reopened for operations on Tuesday, an airport official confirmed.

The runway, operated by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), was shut down on April 9 for planned upgradation works, including enhancements to support low-visibility operations from both ends. Initially, it was slated to reopen in July.

However, with one of the airport’s four runways out of service, flight operations were heavily impacted over the past month, leading to frequent delays and widespread passenger complaints on social media. Several public figures, including Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, and Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora, also voiced their concerns about the disruptions.

Following a meeting chaired by Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on April 21 to address operational bottlenecks, authorities decided to advance the runway’s reopening and defer the remaining upgrade work until June.

In a post on X, Delhi Airport stated:
“As per standard procedure, the DGCA will soon conduct a detailed inspection, and regular flight operations are expected to resume shortly. According to the revised schedule, Runway 28/10 will be closed again from mid-June to mid-September 2025, after the peak tourist season, when wind direction is expected to shift.”

The runway was originally closed in April to coincide with the expected arrival of Easterly winds from May. However, Delhi experienced an early onset of Easterly winds this year, reducing the airport’s hourly flight handling capacity from 42 to 32.

The early reopening of Runway 10/28 is expected to ease congestion and normalise flight schedules at one of India’s busiest airports.