New Delhi: The newly converted international pier C at IGI Airport’s Terminal 3 is likely to remain unused till Sept due to a sharp reduction in overseas flights by IndiGo, Air India group and some other airlines, including foreign carriers, due to the US-Iran war.Delhi International Airport Ltd had sought approvals from multiple agencies several months ago after completing the work for the pier’s conversion from domestic to international as foreign air travel was booming then and India’s busiest airport was running low on capacity to handle this traffic. T3 is the Delhi airport’s only terminal that handles both flights and the domestic capacity had got a boost with the expanded Terminal 1.But by the time the last nod finally came in late June, there was not enough traffic to fill it up. With July-Sept being a traditionally low travel period and things likely to look up from the festival season, pier C will be made operational as and when traffic picks up from Sept or Oct.Till last year, IGIA used to handle an average 2.2 lakh passengers daily — 1.6 lakh domestic across T1, T2 and T3, and 60,000 international at T3. “This average has fallen by 35,000-40,000 daily, with the international drop in the range of 10,000-15,000 and the remaining being the knock-on effect on domestic traffic since Noida Airport opened on June 15,” said a source.“Depending on how oil prices play out and the overall geopolitical situation, things may look up with the start of the winter schedule. Airlines’ woes are well known, but airports are suffering a lot too,” the source added. IGIA now sees an average 1,300 flights daily, nearly a fifth less than 1,550 in the G20 days just about three years ago.The war has proven to be the proverbial last straw for international travel to and from India — especially the West. The Pakistan airspace has been closed for Indian carriers for nearly 15 months now, and vice-versa, post Operation Sindoor, due to which the western routes have become very long and unviable. While foreign airlines fly straight from the UAE to the US, Air India, IndiGo, AI Express and Akasa have to take much longer circuitous routes.The closure of Pakistan airspace impacts north India, with Delhi, being the biggest hub here, the most. International flights between the West and Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kerala don’t need to overfly Pakistan’s airspace.Air India reduced its international flights post the Ahmedabad crash June 2025. With the US-Iran war sending oil prices sky-high and the rupee crashing, now all Indian carriers have reduced their flights due to mounting expenses, losses and reduced traffic due to high airfares.Meanwhile, hoping for better times soon, DIAL is getting pier C fit to start handling international flights and has asked all airport shop franchisees to complete their fitments by Sept.While the 2026-27 airline winter schedule will start on Oct 25 when more international flights are expected, domestic air travel should pick up in about two months, with the festive season starting from Raksha Bandhan in late Aug.
