The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is the primary international airport serving New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), functioning as a critical national institution. Its origins trace back to Palam Airport, which began as a Royal Air Force base during World War II and officially became a passenger airport in 1962. The airport was renamed in May 1986 with the construction of Terminal 2, addressing the problem of the old facility struggling to handle the booming air traffic.
IGIA operates under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The management was transferred from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a consortium led by the GMR Group, in May 2006. The mechanism is governed by the Operations, Management and Development Agreement (OMDA), which was signed on April 4, 2006, granting an initial concession period of 30 years, extendable by another 30 years. An informed reader should know that the OMDA included a Right of First Refusal (RoFR) for DIAL regarding any second airport planned within a 150 km radius during the first 30 years.
The airport, which has been India's busiest in terms of passenger traffic since 2009, is undergoing continuous expansion. A major development was the completion of the integrated passenger terminal, Terminal 3 (T3), in March 2010. Recently, the airport has seen significant changes, including the conversion of Pier C at T3 for international operations to increase capacity by nearly 50%. Furthermore, the concession for Cargo Terminal 1 was terminated with M/s Celebi on May 15, 2025, following a directive from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and subsequently awarded to GMR Airports Limited. The long-term plan involves the potential phase-out of the aging Terminal 2, built in 1986, by 2033.