VVIP cavalcades departing the airport were guarded and aided by 3,000 police and paramilitary troops.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport sent out additional air traffic controllers (ATCOs) to manage all flight operations on Friday as at least 29 flights carrying heads of State or their representatives landed in the Capital, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
There were hasty preparations made to meet and send the dignitaries to their respective hotels because at least 12 of the 29 planes landed within three and a half hours, with some flights separated by as little as 10 minutes.
As an illustration, the commercial flights that brought the prime leaders of Singapore and the Netherlands each landed six minutes apart.
Similar to this, the special flights carrying the presidents of Brazil and Turkey both touched down within 15 minutes of one another.
According to a government official, ATCOs are managing the flight movements throughout the G20 Summit with 10% more people than usual. Several of them have received calls from several other stations to work at the airport in Delhi. “Fifty-five aircraft with VVIPs are expected to land in Delhi,” he continued. A handful of them will land at Air Force Station, Palam while the most would be parked at T3. By Saturday noon, all of these landings will be complete.
Alberto Fernández, the president of Argentina, arrived in Delhi as the first foreign representative on Friday at 6.20 am, according to the officer. “Heads of state and representatives from South Africa, the UK, Oman, Russia, Japan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, Egypt, Italy, Australia, the US, Canada, China, the UAE, The Netherlands, Singapore, Turkey, Brazil, Spain, and Indonesia were among the other dignitaries who arrived on Friday. On Saturday, the French president and the German chancellor will arrive in Delhi, the officer said.
Approximately 25,000 police and traffic officers, according to a second police officer, have been stationed at various locations between the airport and the hotels where the dignitaries are staying.
Arrivals and departures for other flights at IGI airport were delayed by 30 to 40 minutes.
A team of senior officials will monitor arrivals and departures relevant to the Summit, according to representatives of Delhi Airport International Ltd (DIAL), which runs IGI airport. They also stated that specific gates and corridors will be set up to ensure a smooth immigration process for G20 participants.
Many additional heads of state as well as other delegation members are going to come at T3, while some guests will be coming at the Air Force Station, Palam. They have been given special consideration, according to DIAL CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar.
