Several VVIP aircraft are expected to land in Delhi for the G20 Summit this September. Ahead of the G20 Summit in Delhi, it has turned out that the national capital does not have enough space for the VVIP aircraft that are about to arrive for the Summit in September. About 50 aircraft are expected to land at the airport, while the IAF base in Palam and The Indira Gandhi International Airport only have parking space for about 40 aircraft.
The G20 summit in Delhi has generated significant attention, with dignitaries across the globe set to gather for critical discussions on the global economy.
In a recent meeting of The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the issue was discussed. Other than the MEA, officials of the Ministry of home affairs(MHA), Indian Air Force, Delhi International Airport Limited(DIAL), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Intelligence Bureau, and Customs were present at the meeting.
According to the Indian Express report, in a recent coordination meeting chaired by the chief of protocol from MEA, it was shared that 50 VVIP aircraft are set to land and 13 heads of state or delegates are expected to come in a commercial flight for the G20 Summit. More information and other special details about the aircraft, including the features, date, and time will be shared later on. In Bay-1 and Bay-3 of IGI Airport, the special aircraft will be parked, which are very close to the ceremonial lounge itself.
“DIAL officials are learned to have been informed that they have identified the parking space at IGI Airport, Terminal-1, and the cargo terminal; the IAF said 18 aircraft can be accommodated at the Palam base,” said sources.
A suggestion to close one of the runways of Indira Gandhi International Airport was made during the discussion. The runway can be used as a parking space. However, the representatives of the airport said that all runways need to be open for landings during the summit. Meanwhile, after considering multiple options, the four cities of Amritsar, Indore, Jaipur, and Lucknow Airports have been shortlisted to accommodate VVIP aircraft, the report added.
The report also mentioned that it was informed at the meeting that the Palam IAF base can handle the arrival of special flights at four different locations. So three more shelves will be built in addition to the existing one, and all four would have similar representatives- Customs, Immigration, Delhi Police, and Protocol. To make flight landing easy or seamless, the flights carrying the leaders would be allowed to land at IGI Airport on a first come first served basis.
Civil aviation has told all the stakeholders to relocate the grounder aircraft from Delhi to another nearby airport. To create spaces for VVIP aircraft, the civil minister has been addressing the parking concerns at the Delhi airport. Approximately 70-80 aircraft are currently parked at Delhi airport for various reasons, including engine replacement and technical issues among others, news agency ANI reported.
Since the airport is about 30 minutes from the meeting venue, the delegates and their teams have been advised to arrive in New Delhi mainly by the evening of September 8. As the G20 summit is going to be held on September 9-10 at the Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre in New Delhi.
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