With a new state-of-the-art terminal and soaring passenger traffi c, the future looks bright for Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, writes Peta Tomlinson.

The world’s second fastest growing major economy has made enormous advances in the past 10 years, and if you haven’t been there for a while or ever before, the surprises begin immediately upon arrival.

Forget any preconceptions about the airports of old. For ‘Incredible India’, as it’s fondly known, now boasts two of the world’s best gateways – Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad both ranked highly in ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) customer satisfaction survey – and huge investment elsewhere continues to transform the nation’s airport system.

Both Delhi (DEL) and Hyderabad (HYD) airports are operated by private consortia led by the GMR Group, and the elevation of these key aviation gateways to world-class standard is a response to the phenomenal growth of air travel in India and the result of substantial public and private sector investment.

Indeed, annual traffi c growth across India has more than tripled from 6% to 20% per annum in less than a decade and Delhi–Indira Gandhi has seen its annual throughput soar from 16.5 million passengers in 2006 to over 28.5 million last year.

Delhi is a standout example of the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) that are paving the way for the transformation of India’s gateways. Its ownership structure comprises Delhi International Airport (DIAL) as a joint venture company, infrastructure company GMR Group (54%), Airports Authority of India (26%), Fraport and Malaysia Airports (10% each).

DIAL is mandated to fi nance, design, build, operate and maintain the Delhi Airport for 30 years with an option to extend it by another 30 years. Visitors arriving in Delhi this April for the ACI Asia-Pacifi c Conference, Assembly and Exhibition will be greeted by the airport’s “wow factor”, according to new airport CEO, IP Rao.

He’s referring to the gateway’s new Terminal 3, opened last year to cement Delhi’s place among the largest and most modern in the world. Since opening, the new terminal has been wowing all fi rst time visitors, Rao says, who believes that its grandeur is a refl ection of India’s galloping economy and new-found confidence.

The 34 million passengers per annum capacity of the new showpiece terminal ensure that India’s gateway to the world is capable of accommodating up to 46mppa.

The 502,000sqm showpiece complex boasts 78 gates and sprawling piers spanning 1.2 kilometres from one end to the other. Automated baggage technology capable of handing up to 12,800 bags per hour mean that long waits for luggage upon arrival are all but a thing of the past. While 168 check-in desks and 95 immigration counters are designed to facilitate swift movement through the terminal.

ThyssenKrupp – which provided the bulk of the terminal’s airbridges – also provided the 77 elevators, 34 escalators and 92 moving walks that help make T3 one of the world’s most passenger friendly terminal’s in terms of ease of access.

One 118 metre long moving walkway in Terminal 3 is actually thought to be the longest in Asia. Terminal 3’s huge retail mall is the largest of any Indian airport, encompassing almost 20,000sqm of duty free stores.

Over 3,000 security cameras keep a close eye on every corner of the airport premises, while trained security personnel, passenger support staff and registered taxi operators with biometric cards ensure much safer travel to and from the airport terminal.

It is this attention to detail that makes Delhi–Indira Gandhi International Airport the gateway to modern India, according to Rao. “Delhi is now a witness to a new airport building with eye-catching design, attractive interior space, tranquil landscaping, and safe and effi cient movement systems,” enthuses Rao.

“Delhi’s T3 offers not just an airport facility, but an experience in itself. With this terminal, DIAL is poised to transform the airport into a hub connecting passengers internationally and domestically, thereby allowing India to take its rightful place on the global aviation stage by providing passengers and airlines with the choice of an effi cient, safe, secure and customer focused airport.”

The new facility is regarded as a big step forward for India, and a source of national pride. Feelings that were reinforced by Delhi’s performance in the 2010 ASQ survey, which saw it ranked fourth behind Incheon, Singapore Changi and Shanghai Pudong and above Kuala Lumpur in the 25–40mppa category.

Rao claims that the lofty ranking has well and truly established DEL as one of the Asia-Pacifi c region’s top 10 airports.

“Our success in the awards is testimony to the diligent approach of not just the GMR staff but all airport stakeholders,” says Rao. “This list includes the entire airport community comprising the airlines, retail and food outlets staff, the CISF and Customs and Immigration, in providing a world-class experience to the passengers.

“I also believe that our performance in the ASQ survey speaks volumes of how a true Public Private Partnership (PPP) can become successful with all the stakeholders and the airport community working in tandem.”

Former DIAL CEO and newly appointed CEO, GMR Corporate Airport Sector, PS Nair, admits that Delhi had achieved its vision of being among the ‘Top Ten’ airports in the 25–40mppa category ahead of its 2011 target.

“For us, ASQ is a valuable tool to help improve performance in a scientific manner, identifying problem areas that can then be addressed. Service quality at airports is gaining immense importance today,” he says.

DIAL’s commitment to honing Delhi airport’s competitive edge did not stop with the opening of T3. In December 2010, it partnered with IBM India to establish a common-use infrastructure that would automate its operations and improve customer satisfaction through quality service.

The unified network solution integrates all of the communications across T3 and its facilities so that airport operations, airlines and other tenants can better share and exchange key information across their related operations to more efficiently deploy their resources and meet the growing demands of the India aviation market.

A milestone event this year saw the long-awaited opening of a new metro rail link that gets passengers to the airport from the centre of Delhi in just 20 minutes.

In March 2011, Hong Kong-based Langham Hotels opened a mid-range Eaton Smart hotel inside the terminal, split across the domestic and international wings.

Rooms can be reserved overnight or in blocks of five hours, so business travellers can sleep, freshen up and connect to domestic flights or arrive in central Delhi ready for a day’s work.

But the gateway is certainly not resting on its laurels in terms of infrastructure, as T3 is part of a flexible, long-term development programme that could eventually result in the airport being equipped to handle 100mppa.

They include proposals to build four more new passenger terminals and add a fourth runaway by 2026 to ensure that the gateway is equipped to meet future demand.

In any burgeoning economy today, it is the airports that represent the arrival of a nation on the global economic stage. The new-look Delhi–Indira Gandhi International Airport is just that – a stalwart symbol of the Indian economy.





High-tech Terminal 3
Delhi’s new Terminal 3 incorporates a number of ARINC provided
solutions specifi cally designed to enhance the ‘passenger
convenience’, streamline airport operations and strengthen security.
These solutions include vMUSE for check-in and boarding
stations, SelfServ Common Use Self Service (CUSS) kiosks, BagScan
for baggage reconciliation system and BagLink for baggage
messaging solutions.
Over 100 hand-held scanners for the automated baggage
reconciliation system were also installed in partnership with
Quantum Aviation Solutions.
ARINC’s vMUSE solution is also available at three metro stations
along the Airport Express Line, which allows travellers to check-in at
these stations before taking the express line to Delhi–Indira Gandhi
International Airport.
Local Departure Control Systems (L-DCS) were also deployed to
simplify and boost the effi ciency of check-in processes at the
terminal. ARINC provided its AviNet Airport network connectivity
solution in the terminal to allow reliable access for the airlines to their
DCS hosts and back offi ces at the airport.
The company is also trialling its passenger reconciliation system,
VeriPax, at the airport. The technology is designed to improve airport
security by validating all types of boarding passes at the terminal.
VeriPax is currently undergoing trials at the terminal.
ARINC Managed Services (AMS), a subsidiary of ARINC
Incorporated, manages the operations and maintenance services for
the deployed systems.


IT partner
When Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport began
using UFIS Airport Solutions’ (UFIS-AS) product portfolio
in June 2008, it became the third airport, and the first
brownfield airport in India to use the Universal Flight
Information System (UFIS).
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, and
Bengaluru International Airport, Bangalore – both
greenfield airports – began using UFIS in March and May
2008, respectively.
Delhi also premiered WebFIDS, which provides the same
reliability and industry-proven functionality as the classic
FIDS solutions with the added flexibility of being able to
use any PC-based controller running Windows or Linux as
the display controller.
UFIS also provided Delhi’s Airport Operational Database
(AODB), Flight Information Processing System (FIPS), Flight
Information Display System (FIDS), and interfaces to 14
sub-systems through the Information Broker.
Since the initial installation, Delhi has added the Data
Changes module to its UFIS package.