Delhi Airport's Terminal 1 to resume full operations from April 15

Delhi Airport new Terninal 1.

The expanded Terminal 1 (T1) of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport will start functioning at its full capacity from April 15, GMR Airport's subsidiary Delhi International Airport (DIAL) said in statement on March 20.

The new T1 terminal has a maximum capacity of handling 4 crore passengers annually, and after April 15, it will handle all flights currently operating from Terminal 2 (T2), the company said.

"Currently, Terminal 2 handles approximately 270-280 air traffic movements and serves over 46,000 passengers per day, primarily from Akasa Air and IndiGo airlines. These flights will be shifted to T1 starting April 15, 2025. DIAL has notified the airlines of the change and requested them to plan accordingly for the transition," DIAL said in a statement.

IGI Airport's T2 will be shut for repairs from April 15, as the terminal's apron needs to be strengthened, it needs new flooring, new modernised washrooms, and upgraded boarding bridges at a cost of approximately Rs 80 crore. T2 is likely to reopen in the second half of 2025 after repairs.

As part of T1 expansion, DIAL has increased the terminal's area from 55,740 sqm to 206,950 sqm, added facial recognition systems at all entry gates, and increased baggage handling capacity, from 3,240 to 6,000 bags per hour, the company said.

Part of T1 became operational from August 17, 2024. The new terminal was developed as part of the Phase 3A expansion project by DIAL. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 10 this year.

However, it should be noted that the portion of Delhi airport's Terminal-1, which was closed following the canopy collapse incident in June 2024, was kept shut. Restoration work of T1 will be carried out till April 2025.

The central government had directed DIAL to get any plan for T1 approved by them, after the collapse of a canopy at the old departure forecourt of Terminal 1 (T1) at the Delhi airport in June 2024.

In November 2024, the GMR Group, as part of a presentation to the MoCA, had requested approvals to complete Terminal-1 interior restoration by January 2025 and the work on the external side by March 2025

On June 28, 2024 extreme rainfall and weather conditions led to the collapse of a portion of the canopy at T-1 of the airport. The debris fell on taxis parked near the entrance, leaving a 45-year-old cab driver dead. Flight operations to and from T-1 have remained suspended since then..

Delhi Airport is currently India’s only airport to have the capacity to handle over 100 million passengers annually. The airport's three terminals - T1 can accommodate 40 million passengers per year, T2 15 million, and Terminal 3 (T3) 45 million passengers.