Fliers this winter may finally find some relief at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, with the upgraded Terminal 2 runway will be operational from October 26, which will take the overall annual passenger handling capacity to 100 million.
The announcement comes after months of disruption caused by the closure of Runway 10 for upgrades to CAT IIIB standards, which are essential for safe landings in dense fog. The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital, also the country’s busiest airport, has three terminals — Terminal 1, Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. Currently, T1 and T3 are operational.
The upgraded Terminal 2 at the IGI airport is set to become operational from October 26, coinciding with the beginning of the winter schedule, airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) announced on Monday. “From the intervening night of October 25-26, 2025, approximately 120 daily domestic flights operated by Air India and Indigo are set to shift operations to the upgraded Terminal 2,” the release said.
Built four decades ago by the Airports Authority of India, T2 was closed earlier this year after Terminal 1 became fully operational. DIAL said the upgrade aimed to make T2 “future-ready” to handle surging passenger traffic. “Terminal 2 is not just a facility upgrade — it’s a complete reimagination of the passenger journey,” said Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO of DIAL. “With technologies like the self-baggage drop and autonomous docking aerobridges, we are empowering travellers, optimising efficiency and preparing Delhi Airport for the future of aviation.”
Since mid-June, when the runway was shut for the second time this year, nearly 200 flights a day have been affected. Runway 10, located at the Dwarka end of the 10/28 strip, was first closed in April but had to reopen within weeks after strong easterly winds reduced the hourly arrival rate from 42 to 32 flights, causing operational chaos.
The Union ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) intervened, instructing the airport operator DAIL to resume services. Upgrade work then resumed in June. Delhi airport, the country’s busiest, has four runways — 27/9, 28/10, 29R/11L and 29L/11R — and three terminals with a combined annual passenger capacity of 109 million.
Terminal 1 handles 40 million passengers, while T2 has a capacity of 15 million.
