Massive Flight Delays Hit Delhi Airport Amid Runway Closure

Post by: Layla Badr

Photo: Instagram/@delhiairport

On Sunday, thousands of passengers at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport had a tough time as many flights were delayed. Both arrivals and departures were affected, causing long waits and confusion. The reason? A mix of poor planning, miscommunication, and bad weather.

Why Were Flights Delayed?

According to officials from Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the main problem was that one of the airport’s four runways (Runway 10/28) was closed for repair and upgrade work. This was already planned, and airlines were informed about it four months ago. But when the wind suddenly changed direction—something that affects how planes land and take off—the airport’s ability to manage flights dropped sharply.

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Since fewer runways were working and more flights were scheduled because of the summer rush, the situation got out of control. This caused big delays, and many passengers were left waiting for hours.

How Bad Was the Situation?

By 11:30 pm on Sunday, 501 flights leaving Delhi and 384 flights coming in were delayed. According to the flight tracking service Flightradar24, flights going out were delayed by about 1 hour on average, while incoming flights were delayed even more—around 75 minutes.

Airlines Ignored Warnings

DIAL said airlines had been warned about the runway closure and possible issues with wind patterns four months in advance. All the major groups involved—airlines, air traffic control (ATC), and the airport—had agreed that there would be some trouble during this time.

However, DIAL said airlines didn’t make enough changes to their schedules. They didn’t cancel or reschedule flights, even though they were told to be ready to do so for passenger safety. This lack of action made things worse, not just for the airport and ATC, but mainly for the passengers.

When Will Things Get Better?

The airport has now decided to pause the runway upgrade work for a while. Runway 10/28 is expected to reopen in the first week of May. After that, the remaining repair work will continue later, once things settle down.

Delhi Airport has four runways in total:

• RW 09/27

• RW 11R/29L

• RW 11L/29R

• RW 10/28 (the one currently closed)

A VIP Flight Got Delayed Too

To make things worse, a flight carrying Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was also affected. His IndiGo flight had to be diverted to Jaipur instead of landing in Delhi. He later shared his anger on social media, calling the situation at Delhi airport a "bloody shit show".

The airport officials replied that the diversion happened because of sudden changes in wind and limited runway space due to the repair work.
Delhi Airport faced a big mess on Sunday. One runway was closed for repairs, and airlines didn’t adjust their schedules even after getting early warnings. When the wind changed suddenly, things got worse. Hundreds of flights were delayed, and many passengers faced long waits. The good news is that the closed runway will be reopened soon in early May.

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