Airports in Delhi
The capital city of India, Delhi, has a well-developed mode of communication. Air Transportation, Delhi has both international airports and domestic airport.
Delhi is well equipped with two airports viz. the Indira Gandhi International Airport and the Safdarjung Airport. The two airports of Delhi and their services and facilities are mentioned below:
Indira Gandhi International Airport
The airport is named after the former prime minister of India. Indira Gandhi. The IGI Airport was ranked No. 1 in the 25-40 MPPA categories and retained the rank in 2015 with a score of 4.96 in ASQ survey on scale of 1 to 5.
The IGI Airport is India's and South Asia's largest and most important aviation hub, with a current capacity of handling more than 46 million passengers and aimed at handling more than 100 million passengers by 2030.
Domestic Flight
Terminal 1 at Delhi Airport is used as a domestic terminal since it is only served by low-cost carriers. The domestic flight section witnesses Indian Airlines domestic flights, Alliance Air flights, private airlines.
There are currently 39 airlines operating in India including scheduled, regional, chartered and cargo airlines. You can reach the airport on your own transport, cabs or by using the Airport Express Line.
International Flight Section- Terminal 3
It operates both domestic and international flights. The terminal 3 is located around 9 km away from the terminal 1, and passengers can move through shutter services. It is the biggest terminal of IGIA.
It has been operating regularly since July 2010 and is known as the 24th largest building in the world. The Indira Gandhi airport is operated by Delhi International Airport (DIAL), a public-private consortium led by GMR Group.
The terminal 3 is connected to Delhi by eight-lane motorways and also the Delhi Mass Rapid Transit System.
The new terminal increased the passenger capacity by 50% and needed a state of the art multi-level parking management system to support the rising number of cars and taxis. Approximately 80 airlines serve this airport.
List of some of the Airlines operating at Delhi Airport - Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL):
- Aeroflot
- AeroNomad
- Air Algerie
- Air Arabia
- Air Arabia Abu Dhabi
- Air Astana
- Air Austral
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air France
- Air India
- Air India Express
- Air Manas
- Air Mauritius
- AirAsia India
- AirAsia X
- All Nippon Airways - ANA
- Alliance Air
- American Airlines
- Ariana Afghan Airlines
- Asiana Airlines
- Avianca
- Bhutan Airlines
- Biman Bangladesh Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- China Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Drukair
- Emirates
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Etihad Airways
- euroAtlantic Airways
- Fiji AirwaysFinnair
- FlexFlight
- flydubai
- flynas
- Garuda Indonesia
- Go First
- Gulf Air
- Hong Kong Airlines
- Iberia
- IndiGo
- Iraqi Airways
- ITA Airways
- JAL - Japan Airlines
- Jazeera Airways
- Kam Air
- Kenya Airways
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
- Korean Air
- Kuwait Airways
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Mahan Air
- Malaysia Airlines
- Maldivian
- Malindo Air
- Miat - Mongolian Airlines
- Myanmar Airways International
- Nepal Airlines
- Oman Air
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines
- Saudia
- Shandong Airlines
- Somon Air
- SpiceJet
- SriLankan Airlines
- SWISS
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways International
- Thai Lion Air
- Turkish Airlines
- Ukraine International Airlines
- United Airlines
- Uzbekistan Airways
- VietJet Air
- Vietnam Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Vistara
Other terminals in Indira Gandhi International Airport:
Hajj Terminal:
The airport has arranged special flights for the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj. It was started from 28th September 2011 and is used for two months starting from the second month after Eid-Ul-Fitr.
Cargo Terminal:
IGIA manages the cargo operations. The IGIA has received award in the year 2007 for its organized and brilliant cargo handling system. The cargo terminal is located at a distance of 1 km from the terminal.
How to reach:
- By Road: One can take the 8 lane Delhi Gurgaon Expressway. There are low floor AC buses managed by DTC and taxis available from the city to the airport.
- By Rail:The airport is connected to Delhi by the Delhi Airport Metro Express metro line. This express runs 22.7 km from terminal 3 of IGIA to New Delhi railway station every 15 mins.
Important Contact Numbers of the IGIA:New Delhi Airport Customer Care Number: 0124-3376000
Terminal 1A & 1B: 011-25661000
International Cargo Terminal: 01125601017
Safdarjung Airport
The airport was established during the British rule as Wellington Airfield. The airport was upgraded in the year 1929. It was used during the Second World War and also during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947. It was Delhi’s main airport until the year 1962 when the Palam Airport (Indira Gandhi International Airport) came into operation.
The Delhi Flying Club was established at the Safdarjung Airport in the year 1928 with two de Haviland Moth aircrafts named Delhi and Roshanara.
The airport operated till the year 2002. It stopped for flying activities due to security reasons post 9/11 attacks. The Airport is now used for VVIP helicopter rides to IGIA. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the headquarters of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are located in Safdarjung Airport.
The ministry of Civil Aviation is located in the Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan on the grounds of the airport. There is also the Delhi liaison office of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi located in the administrative block of the airport.