In a unique study conducted by PG students of School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), it was found Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport takes maximum time to reach, compared to any other airport in the country.
This means that if you are in Delhi or NCR region (Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Faridabad), then you actually have some spare time, or else you may miss your flight.
The study was conducted at 60 airports in the country, and the average time taken to reach the airport was calculated from the ‘center point’ of the city. For Delhi, Chandni Chowk was considered as the centre point. The researchers found that it took 31 minutes to reach the airport from Chandni Chowk, in case there is no traffic.
In the case of traffic, this travel time increased to 76 minutes, which is 145% more.
Because of this massive difference of 145% between low traffic and high traffic road travel to the Delhi airport, it received lowest ranking for “average speed” (time taken to reach the airport from the city’s centre) and “reliability” (difference in minimum and maximum time).
Senior professor (transport planning) Dr Sewa Ram, under whom this study was conducted, said, “It is better to wait for some time at the airport than risk missing the flight. The Rao Tula Ram Marg and Airport Road are mostly packed with traffic and you can never estimate how much time you will take,”
Rao Tula Ram Marg and Airport Road are the areas within 20 km-radius of the Delhi Airport, and mostly remains jammed due to Airport traffic.
Hyderabad Is Most Easily Accessible Airport
The study found that access to Hyderabad airport is the most convenient and fast, among all airports in India.
In Delhi, the average speed of a vehicle going towards the airport from the city centre is 20 km/hr, which is the lowest in India. Within 5 km radius, the speed is 16.1 km/hr, and it increases after 12-13 kms and then becomes constant till 20-22 kms.
With 30km/hr speed, Hyderabad has the fastest access to the airport due to a dedicated link and network of highways.
While world’s busiest airports: London and Tokyo have an average speed of 30 km/hr within 5 km radius, and 45-50 km/hr within 15 km radius, in India, this speed is an average of 15 km/hr.
Amal Jose, who conducted this study over a period of 5 months, said, “Only developments within the airport won’t help. Overall development needs to take place, where accessibility to the airport is also taken into consideration,”
This study holds special significance, considering that in the next 20 years, Delhi Airport will become World’s busiest airport, replacing London and Shanghai.
How will we reach airport then?
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