Aviation minister inaugurates revamped Terminal 2 of Delhi airport

NEw new delhi: civic air power government minister ram down Mohan Naidu on Saturday inaugurated the revamped Terminal 2 (T2) of the Delhi airport, which will reopen for flight operations from Sunday October 26, marking a major expansion in capacity at India’s busiest airport.With the reopening, Air India and IndiGo will together operate around 120 domestic flights daily from the upgraded terminal, according to Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the GMR Group-led consortium that manages the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).“The government is developing and transforming airports into world-class transit hubs at an unprecedented pace,” Naidu said at the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by senior officials from the civil aviation ministry, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and DIAL.“Handling nearly 50 per cent of the Northern region’s total passenger traffic and managing nearly 50,000 transfers every day, Delhi is emerging as a preferred transfer hub,” the minister said, adding that India has the potential to become one of the world’s largest civil aviation ecosystems.The more than 40-year-old T2, shut for renovation in April this year, will reopen in time for the Winter Schedule 2025 when flight movements are expected to rise by about 13 percent compared to the previous winter schedule.Naidu said the Delhi airport can handle up to 130 million passengers annually with efficient use of space and highlighted its growing focus on sustainability, including the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).DIAL said that the refurbished terminal will play a “pivotal role” in strengthening Delhi’s position as India’s foremost aviation hub, equipped to manage the next phase of passenger growth efficiently and sustainably.“The reopening of T2 allows for more balanced airline operations across terminals, further enhancing efficiency and convenience for millions of travellers,” Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO of DIAL, saidThe upgraded terminal features a Self-Baggage Drop (SBD) facility, enabling passengers to check in their luggage independently, reducing queues and wait times. It also has six new Passenger Boarding Bridges (PBBs) and has undergone comprehensive mechanical and electrical upgrades to support future traffic growth, the airport operator stated.At T2, the first arriving flight will be IndiGo 6E 2058 from Lucknow at around 0025 hours on October 26, while the first departing flight will be IndiGo 6E 2343 to Pune at 0215 hours the same night, it said.IGIA which now has three terminals (T1, T2, and T3) and four runways, handles over 1,300 flight movements daily and can accommodate more than 100 million passengers annually.