Delhi airport to shut 1 runway for 4 months in 2026
Heads up if you fly through Delhi: Indira Gandhi International Airport is likely to close one of its main runways (11R/29L) from February 16 to the end of June 2026 for major upgrades.
The plan is to replace landing systems, resurface the runway, add a rapid exit taxiway, and improve drainage—basically, making things smoother and safer for everyone.
How flights will keep moving
Delhi airport has four runways, so while this one's out of action, they'll juggle operations to keep things running.
One runway will handle both takeoffs and landings (mixed mode), another just departures, and another just arrivals.
The goal is to keep daily flight movements almost at normal levels—1,515 per day instead of the usual 1,550.
Why this matters (and what happened last time)
This isn't the first big closure—last year's attempt on a different runway caused significant disruption, with reduced hourly arrival capacity, cascading delays totaling nearly 320 hours across the country in 10 days, and about 200 fewer flights handled daily;
when work resumed in June, DIAL canceled 114 flights daily and rescheduled 86.
To avoid that mess again during busy travel seasons like foggy winters or summer breaks, officials have been meeting since December to make sure things go as smoothly as possible.