Delhi airport opens exclusive terminal for private jets

NEW DELHI:  Delhi international airport on Thursday opened an exclusive terminal to handle the flight operations of private jets. The terminal has 57 parking bays and can handle up to 150 private jet flights per day. While inaugurating the terminal on Thursday, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, “India’s civil aviation sector is all set to emerge stronger in a post-Covid world as more routes are opening up and number of passengers is increasing.

We expect a bulk of pre-Covid-19 domestic air passengers’ traffic to be back by Diwali this year. The dedicated GA terminal would fulfill all needs of general aviation users,” said Puri. The minister said the Delhi airport was handling around 40 ‘general aviation’ flights per day before the pandemic, and it is currently handling around 20 such flights per day.

Flight operations of private jets are classified under the ‘general aviation’ category. “This terminal looks good. People like me use the other terminals (earmarked for commercial passenger flights) but those who use this terminal, I am sure their feedback — when they start using it - will also be very positive,” Puri said.

“I am sure this (terminal) will be a small but significant boost to general aviation,” Puri added. The new terminal has spacious passenger lounges, retail and food and beverage sections and 24x7 personal concierge services, said Delhi airport’s operator DIAL There is a common processing area with customs and immigrations and there is an immediate access to private jet aircraft stands from the terminal, the DIAL noted. The terminal can handle over 50 passengers every hour, stated the GMR group-led DIAL.