NEW DELHI: The capital’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is now the world’s 12th busiest airport — moving up four places from the 16th spot in 2017 — by overtaking mega hubs like the Frankfurt, Dallas Forth Worth, Guangzhou and Istanbul Ataturk airports.
According to the preliminary world airport traffic rankings for 2018 released by Airports Council International (ACI), IGIA was the fastest growing among the top 20 airports. The airport saw 6.9 crore domestic and international flyers in 2018, 10.2% points more than the combined passengers of 2017. In terms of passenger growth, only Seoul’s Incheon International, at the 16th place in 2018 with 10% point growth, was close to Delhi.
The four airports just above Delhi — Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Shanghai Pudong and Hong Kong — handled just up to 46 lakh passengers more than IGIA. Had the Delhi airport’s expansion not been hugely delayed as they are, IGIA may have even made it to the top 10 last year itself.
