The history of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport is very old.
One person died when part of the roof of Terminal 1 of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport collapsed due to heavy rains on Friday. All flights departing from this terminal have been cancelled. The airport manager is making all possible efforts to help the passengers. The Aviation Minister has arrived at IGI airport. However, this airport also has a long history, dating back to the 1930s.
However, IGI is the busiest airport in the country and handles over 7.25 million passengers every year. Let us turn the pages of history and try to understand how this airport came into existence. Was this airport already named after Indira Gandhi? When did Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 come into existence and when and how did GMR enter Indira Gandhi Airport?
What is the history of this airport?
If you want to understand the history of Indira Gandhi International Airport, you will have to start from Palam Airport. Palam first served as a Royal Air Force base during World War II, serving the British in the British war in Asia and beyond. After India’s independence, Palam continued to serve as an Indian Air Force base. After that, the Government of India started commercial aviation from this airport.
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In the year 1962, Palam Airport was officially converted into a passenger airport. Initially, the capacity of this airport was limited to a maximum of 1,300 passengers per hour for domestic and international flights. However, shortly afterwards the airport was expanded and a new terminal was built. According to BusinessLine reporting at the time, the construction of the new terminal was completed in 1969 for Rs 9 lakh.
Palam Airport continued to grow in the years following its expansion. The 1970s saw a rise in long-distance travel and more international travel. Historically, Air India has been based in New Delhi and flies Boeing 747s to London and beyond. Foreign airlines such as Pan Am also entered India. After which a lot of development was seen in Delhi.
However, as air traffic in India grew, Palam airport again struggled to maintain traffic. This meant that the airport required another expansion.
IGI was born
In May 1986, a new terminal (Terminal 2) was built and Palam Airport was officially renamed as Indira Gandhi International Airport. The airport was named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who died in 1984. Now Delhi Airport had two active terminals. Where Terminal 2 handled international flights. On the other hand, domestic flights were served from T1. For almost two decades, both the terminals performed their respective functions very well. Till 2010, only these two terminals remained operational at Delhi Airport.
However, there has been a significant increase in aviation demand over the past 20 years. Terminals 1 and 2 were overwhelmed in the early 2000s, with T1 handling passengers at more than 45 percent of its capacity. With the need for more modern facilities, T2 also began to fill up quickly. Two decades after the construction of the second terminal, in view of the increasing passenger pressure on the airport, the need was felt to further upgrade the airport with another terminal. This time, the government decided to hand over the management and construction of the airport to the private sector. The contract for this was awarded in 2006. After which the construction of Terminal 3 began.
GMR’s role started from here
When the government decided to hand over the Delhi airport to private hands. After that the role of GMR Group started. Who not only built Terminal 3 but also changed the entire map of IGI Airport. The construction of T3 started in 2006 and was completed in 2019. Led by GMR Group and Fraport, T3 has the capacity to serve 34 million passengers every year. However, this capacity is much less compared to other major airports globally. Even after that, this capacity is much better than the capacity of T1 and T2.
Delhi Airport got a new terminal in July 2010 after almost 24 years. Following which T2 was closed for renovation. All international flights started taking off from T3. Apart from international services, select airlines including Air India also shifted their domestic operations to T3; Terminal 3 has won numerous awards for its service and design, enhancing its global image as a hub.
there are also problems
While IGI Airport may be one of the best airports in South Asia, it also faces many challenges. One major issue is related to inter-terminal connectivity. There is no air connectivity between Terminals 1, 2 and 3. This means that passengers will have to clear immigration to board most domestic flights. Even if one opts to skip immigration, inter-terminal transportation is quite limited.
T2 and T3 are very close, it takes 15 minutes to reach T1 on a normal day and longer on busy days. Without centralised airport planning and construction, Delhi is struggling to provide the easy connectivity available at other airports globally.
