Delhi flying high

Congestion at Delhi's IGI Airport may finally reduce with the 4.4-km-long new runway set to open from Thursday at 6:00 am. The first flight on the runway, an Air India aircraft, will land at 6.15 am. The flight-handling capacity of the airport will go up to about 65 flights per hour, while demand is of about 45 flights per hour at present. The new runway has been mired in controversy for a while, first due to the drainage problem and water logging, later when the air traffic control officials expressed their concerns over its security since it was not visible from their tower. However, senior ministry officials clarified the runway was serviced by means of highly sophisticated equipment and there was no problem of visibility. Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) has already got permission to drain its water into the Dwarka drain nearby.