Delhi Airport: The dual elevated Eastern Cross taxiway and the fourth runway at the airport in the national capital will be operational from July 13, a senior official said on Friday. The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital now has three runways.
With the Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT), the distance an aircraft has to travel after landing on the third runway and traveling to Terminal 1 will now be reduced from 9 kms to 2 kms.
Delhi airport will have a fourth runway
This will also reduce the time passengers spend on the road before and after take off and landing. GMR Group Deputy Managing Director I Prabhakar Rao said on Friday that the fourth runway and ECT would be operational from July 13.
IGIA is operated by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a consortium led by GMR Airports Infrastructure Limited. The ECT is 2.1 km long and approximately 202 m wide.
There are two taxiways, one for use by aircraft after landing and the other for use before aircraft take off.
ECT will be the first of its kind in India. It will connect the northern and southern airfields and reduce the taxi distance for an aircraft by 7 km. These taxiways – which can handle larger aircraft including the A-380 and B-777 – will help reduce annual CO2 emissions by 55,000 tonnes, the release said.
(with PTI inputs)