Except transit, other flyers may have to pay to use IGIA air train

NEW DELHI: Passengers flying in and out of Delhi Airport may have to pay to use the much-awaited air train which is expected to be ready by March 2028. Only transit passengers — those flying into T1 & taking connecting flight from T2/3 or vice versa — will not be required to pay to use this automated people mover (APM), according to the consultation paper released by Airports Economic Regulatory Authority for determining IGIA’s tariff for the period April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2029.
“APM is already under bidding stage… expected to be operational by March 2028. The movement would be bi-directional both from T1 to T3 and vice-versa. DIAL expects throughput of 40,000 to 50,000 passengers/day initially which would be scaled up to 80,000 to 90,000 passengers/day by increasing the frequency. APM will not be chargeable for transfer passengers while for rest of the passengers, it will be chargeable,” the paper says.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has also submitted its plans for converting a domestic pier to int’l at T3 and build a new pier at T3, as reported by TOI recently. While the conversion and T2 refurbishment are expected to cost about Rs 184 crore, the proposed new pier will cost about Rs 1,662 crore. More aircraft parking stands will be built at a cost of about Rs 574 crore.
“IGIA Master Plan 2016 proposes for addition of (the new) domestic Pier E to the eastern side of existing T3 for enhancing T3 domestic capacity by one crore passengers annually. The existing domestic capacity of DIAL will get exhausted by FY 2028 and hence will require a new Pier E to be added to T3. This will result in allocation of Pier A, B and C (C is currently used for domestic operations) for the International traffic while Pier D and E will be completely utilised for domestic operations,” the paper says.
Regarding the study on traffic conducted by DIAL, AERA observes: “Although Noida Int’l Airport (NIA) will have spillover of traffic from IGIA in coming years, NIA’s own market stimulation will also play a major role in the medium to long term…. capacity constraints limit IGIA’s ability to accommodate demand… NIA’s ability to act as a relief airport will depend on the extent of its network and capacity.”
In FY 2029, DIAL anticipates IGIA will handle over 7 crore domestic and 2.5 crore international passengers. “Based on comparative analysis of IGIA and NIA on key parameters like location, convenience, capacity, costs for passengers, scale, international operations and travel time, (DIAL study) concludes IGIA has a clear competitive advantage on many important aspects as compared to NIA, which will have more passengers from eastern UP and parts of Haryana with lesser travel time,” the paper says.
The authority estimates: “Based on present travel times, 58% of population in the total catchment area of IGIA and NIA may prefer IGIA over NIA; 31% may prefer NIA over IGIA and 11% may prefer both…. The catchment area of IGIA is more urbanised (53% urban population) and economically stronger (higher GDP per capita) while the catchment area of NIA is less urbanised (29% urban population) and has a lower GDP per capita, which typically correlates with a lower propensity to fly….Eastern UP, which is expected to be a feeder region for NIA, accounted for only 10% of passengers at IGIA which indicates limited air travel.”