The new runway seen as a panacea for flight delays has in fact led to an increase in delays due to its distance from the terminal buildings, Mallya said at a seminar organised by the Aeronautical Society of India.

The new runway is connected to the existing airport through a cross taxiway on the Dwarka side. All aircraft parked near the domestic terminal, which is on the side of NH-8, have to travel a large distance if they want to take off from the new runway. Earlier, planes often had to hover in air for over half-an-hour due to air traffic congestion.

The new runway was supposed to provide relief from all this. But airport officials said the average taxiing time from runway 29-11 to the terminal buildings is now 40 minutes.

“The delays have increased even after commissioning the third runway,” Mallya said. “We end up burning a lot of fuel in taxiing from the runway to the terminal building after landing. There needs to be some improvement in runway management,” Mallya said.

“Forget fog, the post-landing time is a lot even on normal visibility days.”

On foggy days, the new runway usually experiences more intense fog and less runway visual range compared to the other runways due to large open fields surrounding it.