Since the start of 2024, we have now witnessed great motion in two areas: Air India’s enlargement plans and severe talks about constructing a hub in India. In each of those instances, Delhi takes centre stage.

The airport serves as an present hub for Air India and IndiGo. For IndiGo, it’s extra of a regional enlargement—it connects some very strategic international locations. When it involves Air India, the airline has been constructing its hub in Delhi for a few years, making the nationwide capital the de facto selection.

The ministry of civil aviation and Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) are exploring methods to align each company to make sure a seamless switch expertise. One potential answer could possibly be implementing the US pre-clearance facility at Delhi, which means that passengers would arrive within the US as home passengers—having cleared US immigration and customs at New Delhi.

This transfer would offer a big enhance to Indian carriers wishing to fly continuous to the United States, significantly Air India. It would profit the airline in two methods: firstly, by attracting passengers from different carriers, and secondly, by making the airline aggressive for visitors originating within the SAARC international locations and travelling to the US. In each instances, Delhi Airport would profit as a switch hub.

As Air India gears as much as improve its product providing, beginning with the induction of A350s, it can nonetheless take time to compete with the likes of Middle-Eastern carriers who’ve constructed loyalty over a few years and have constantly invested in upgrading each exhausting and comfortable merchandise. A key differentiator and draw can be ease of connections. While competing with Dubai may not be achievable in a single day, strategic ways would differentiate the provider.

US pre-clearance

US pre-clearance is an previous idea, first launched within the Fifties and often practised in Canada because the Seventies. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance includes strategically stationing CBP personnel at designated international airports to examine travellers earlier than boarding US-bound flights. With Preclearance, travellers then bypass CBP and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inspections upon arrival within the US and proceed on to their connecting flight or vacation spot.

CBP has greater than 600 officers and agriculture specialists stationed at 15 Preclearance areas in 6 international locations: Dublin and Shannon in Ireland; Aruba; Bermuda; Abu Dhabi within the United Arab Emirates; Nassau within the Bahamas; and Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, and Winnipeg in Canada. In 2019, CBP personnel stationed overseas precleared 22 million travellers, representing over 16 per cent of all industrial air travellers to the United States.

From a passenger perspective, it facilitates reaching the US as a home passenger and avoiding the lengthy queues at US immigration, thus enabling sooner connecting flights. For airways, it means entry to extra gates on the airport and extra cities within the US.

Delhi—the best airport?

Establishing CBP preclearance requires a government-to-government settlement. With growing cooperation between the 2 international locations and membership in multilateral agreements, amongst different components, this is probably not an insurmountable activity.

However, the airport would wish to revamp itself to adjust to the strict tips for CBP preclearance. While this is probably not possible within the present construction, with the evolution of the Delhi Airport grasp plan and the potential of a brand new Terminal 4, these necessities could possibly be precisely factored in.

This initiative wouldn’t solely profit Air India but in addition United and American Airlines, which function flights to New Delhi from the US. US carriers have needed to cut back their Delhi operations following the ban on overflying Russian airspace, which has been ongoing since February 2022.

Word of warning

At first look, this looks as if a fantastic alternative, however US pre-clearance comes with a number of challenges equivalent to requiring extra time pre-departure, doubtlessly disrupting hub connections, and the necessity for a devoted separate space, which may grow to be crowded at particular instances whereas remaining empty at different instances of the day.

Not many hubs have opted for this facility, indicating that many airways haven’t seen important advantages in partnering with hub airports and investing. However, not many airports worldwide are present process as speedy enlargement and alter as Delhi Airport.