Two days are left for the grand opening of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. The Delhi airport, which is India’s largest airport, is all set to welcome the guests and delegates of the G20 Summit that will see global leaders such as US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joining. More than 50 VVIP jets will land at the Delhi airport for the summit.
Three ceremonial lounges have been prepared to receive the heads of state and other VIPs, government officials have said, as per a report in The Economic Times.
The concerned teams with the heads of states and other delegates will be able to complete the formalities at these lounges and exit the airport from the technical area without affecting the movement of regular passengers, the report said.
"The VIPs will land at the technical airport but aircraft and private jets carrying them will be parked at the Delhi airport," an official quoted in the report said. "Special arrangements have been made to park the Air Force One and a few other important aircraft at the Palam Air Force Station," the official added.
At present, Delhi airport has around 220 parking stands. But all are busy due to the surge in air traffic. The parking situation has become worse as 50 Go First aircraft, which were grounded due to its bankruptcy proceedings, are parked at the airport.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) arm Air Traffic Control (ATC) on Tuesday reportedly issued instructions saying charter aircraft and business jets will not be allowed to land or take off on the marked days, September 8, 10, and 11, the report said.
ATC officials said there could be multiple diversions as VVIP flights will be given priority for landing.
“A separation of around 2,000 nautical miles of their aircraft will be maintained from other civil aircraft. They will also be given priority landing which may cause delays in the civil aircraft movements,” officials quoted in the report said.
The Safdarjung airport has been closed during this period. Only the India Air Force helicopters, which have been deployed on emergency or VVIP duties and military helicopters utilised by the National Security Guard providing immediate backup support, will be allowed to take off and land.
Flight cancellation
To keep airspace and terminals free of congestion, the Centre has reportedly asked airlines to cancel up to 25 per cent of flights on specific hours on September 8, 10 and 11, when most of the heads of state and other delegates are expected to arrive and fly out.
Flights will have to be reduced from 12 pm to 12 am on September 8 and from 6 pm on September 10 until 12 pm the next day, the report said.
The airport handles an average of 1,300 flights, both domestic and international, on a daily basis, and around 25 per cent of these could be affected at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on September 8-10.
On Tuesday, Air India said that it will be offering a one-time waiver on date/flight change from September 7 to 11 in view of the restrictions.
Similarly, IndiGo will also be providing its customers with an option to take the readjusted flights or a refund.
In a statement, the carrier said IndiGo is offering one-time waivers for passengers traveling to and from Delhi between September 08 to 11, 2023.
"Due to the G20 Summit 2023 taking place in New Delhi, IndiGo is offering one-time waivers for passengers traveling to and from Delhi between September 08 to 11, 2023. Customers are being offered the option of rescheduling or cancelling their flights with refunds. Passengers have been notified about flight cancellations and to schedule changes in advance," the low-cost carrier said on Wednesday.
But on Wednesday, a DIAL spokesperson said cancellations of flight has no linkage to parking of aircrafts.
"We take immense pride in India's role as the host of the G20 Summit 2023. Current news on cancellations of flight has no linkage to parking of aircrafts. We have already provided the required parking. The decision of cancellations of flights has been taken by airlines possibly in light of traffic restrictions due to the G20 summit. We'd like to assure all travelers that Delhi Airport is fully equipped with ample parking space for aircraft. So far, we have received requests for cancellation of approximately 80 departing and 80 arriving domestic flights over 3 days, which is a mere 6 per cent of the normal domestic operations at Delhi Airport. The restrictions will not cause any impact on international flights,” the DIAL spokesperson said.
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