Delhi Airport to Finalise 20-Year Master Plan

The plan will be prepared after consultations with airport users and stakeholders and will incorporate significant updates compared with the previous master plan finalised in 2016. The airport is required to submit such a master plan every 10 years and the forthcoming plan is intended to be more dynamic to allow periodic adjustments. The official noted that airline market changes, including the exit of carriers such as GoAir and Jet Airways, have altered demand and network patterns that the plan must address.

Indira Gandhi International Airport, the country’s largest, handles over 1,300 aircraft movements daily and serves as a major aviation hub for the region. In the financial year ended March 2026 passenger traffic at the airport stood at 78.7 million (mn), slightly lower than 79.3 mn in the year-ago period, reflecting broader traffic fluctuations. Domestic traffic and international traffic stood at 57.2 mn and 21.5 mn respectively, figures that will inform capacity and service forecasts within the master plan.

Financial performance will also inform planning priorities and the profit after tax recorded by DIAL, a consortium led by the GMR Group, stood at Rs 4.769 billion (bn) in the 2025-26 fiscal after a loss in the prior year. Without disclosing detailed measures, the official said infrastructure requirements, terminal capacity, airside enhancements and commercial development will be considered in order to support projected traffic and airline needs. The operator expects to submit the revised master plan to the civil aviation ministry within the stated two to two-and-a-half month timeframe following stakeholder consultations.