Delhi airport to increase annual passenger capacity to 130 mn

New Delhi: Delhi airport can scale up its annual passenger handling capacity to up to 130 million as "efficiencies can thrive", its CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar has said. The national capital's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), also the country's busiest airport, currently has the capacity to handle more than 100 million passengers annually. In the year ended March 31, 2025, the airport had seen 79.3 million.

Jaipuriar, who is the CEO of DIAL, said the passenger numbers are expected to increase compared to the previous year but did not provide a particular range or estimate.

The airport, which started operating the refurbished Terminal 2 (T2) on October 26, has two more terminals -- T1 and T3. International flights operate only from T3.

Jaipuriar said the current plan for the airport is to have an annual passenger handling capacity of 130 million.

"T1 is designed for 40 million (passengers per annum capacity). I think we can definitely stretch it by 3-4 per cent or 10 per cent more. Because we have always seen that efficiencies can thrive. So that will take it (capacity) to 44 million.

"At T3, we are already doing 51 million (passengers)... it (T3) was designed for 34 million (passengers)...," he said. Besides, the piers at T3 will help add capacity of at least 10-12 million passengers per annum, he said and added that the capacity of the refurbished T2 is 15 million. After inaugurating the refurbished T2 on Saturday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the airport can have the capacity to handle up to 130 million passengers per annum.