G20: Govt Looks at Nearby Airports, as Parking Space in Delhi Not Enough For VVIP Planes

As about 50 special aircraft are expected to land at the two Delhi airports —  Indira Gandhi International Airport and the IAF base in Palam — for the G20 summit next month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is exploring options to direct them to other cities due to scarcity of parking space.

The two aforementioned airports currently have a parking space for about 40 airplanes, and therefore MEA is mulling sending the rest to Amritsar, Jaipur, Lucknow and Indore.

At a recent coordination meeting chaired by the chief of protocol from the MEA, it was discussed that 50 VVIP aircrafts are set to land and 13 heads of states or delegates are expected to come in commercial flights, according to The Indian Express. 

Special details of these aircraft, including their configuration, date, time etc will be known later. The special airplanes will be parked in Bay-1 and Bay-3, which are very close to the ceremonial lounge, sources told IE. 

The meeting was attending by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Indian Air Force (IAF),  Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Intelligence Bureau and Customs.

A suggestion to close one of the runways of IGI, and use it as a parking space was also put on the table. However, the representatives of the Delhi airport said that all runways needed to be free for landings during the summit, IE said.

After considering multiple possibilities, the four cities of Amritsar, Indore, Jaipur and Lucknow airports were shortlisted.

The civil aviation ministry since the beginning of this month has been in discussions with all the stakeholders to relocated the grounded aircrafts from Delhi to nearby airport.

To accommodate the aircrafts, the civil aviation ministry has been proactively addressing the parking concerns at the Delhi airport, news agency ANI said.

Approximately 70-80 aircraft are currently parked at the Delhi airport due to various reasons such as engine replacements, technical issues among others, a government official told news agency ANI.

G20 summit

The G20 Leaders’ Summit will be held on September 9-10 at the Bharat Mandapam convention centre, previously Pragati Maidan, and some other vital locations.

With less than a month to go for it, security agencies have finalized convoy details and movement drills for visiting heads of states.

According to sources, the outer security will be provided by the Delhi Police and involve security and movement from the hotel to the venue and back to the hotel.

The security drills will cover VVIP movement from the airport to the hotel, hotel to the venue, back to the hotel and finally to the airport.

Delhi Police has already started its work to ensure the global summit is held in a conducive environment. Deputy Commissioners of Police of all districts in Delhi have been given the responsibility to maintain peace and harmony in their areas and also to keep an eye on anti-social elements as well.

India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1, 2022, and since then a large number of meetings under different tracks of the bloc have been hosted across the country, which will culminate in the September 9-10 Summit in New Delhi.