NEW DELHI, Dec 12: As the chaos due to overcrowding continued for the second
week, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia made a surprise
visit to Terminal 3 of Delhi’s IGI airport (Indira Gandhi International Airport)
on Monday also.
As the overcrowding at several airports during busy hours has become unmanageable
ostensibly due to increase in air traffic, the Aviation Ministry last week asked
the airlines to reduce flights at peak hours and reschedule them. (In fact,
the air traffic volume has not reached the pre-covid levels.) The airports affected
by the reported rush, especially because of the holiday season, are Delhi, Mumbai
and Bengaluru.
In Delhi, passengers said they had to wait for two to three hours in the clearance
area before the final departure of the flight. This is going on for over a week.
Having to wait for hours in the clearing area, some passengers missed their
flights on Saturday.
The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said, "Additional manpower requirements
will also have to be addressed by all stakeholders, including CISF and Immigration,
to further improve the situation.” That includes deployment of additional systems.
T3 operates 500 domestic and 250 international flights with a daily passenger
load of around two lakhs. On its side, DIAL wants Phase 3A expansion plan to
be expedited.
The airlines were also asked by the Ministry to increase the strength of their
ground staff. Additional two X-ray machines have been installed at the T3 Terminal
in Delhi. There are currently 14 X-ray screening machines. Additional manpower
has also been deployed in the Automatic Tray Return Systems (ATRS) area. Two
more entry gates will also be opened for passengers at Terminal 3. More traffic
police will be deployed at the departure forecourt to avoid vehicular congestion.
Speaking at an event in Indore on Saturday, the Aviation Minister said some
airports are facing congestion and the bunching of flights during peak hours
will be avoided by rescheduling. He asked the airports to increase the number
of security officials and trolley capacity at entry points.
The use of DigiYatra (face recognition) for seamless and contactless travel
through the airport need to be encouraged. The more people use DigiYatra, the
less will be the congestion at the airports, the Minister said.
The Minister had also held a detailed discussion with the heads of all major
Indian airports, CISF and immigration officials on the issue of decongesting
the airports. He had also visited Delhi T3 terminal with a team of officials
on Friday.
According to a TOI report, the Delhi airport operator, Delhi International
Airport Ltd, is planning to reduce 33 flights - 14 from Terminal 3, 11 from
Terminal 2 and eight from Terminal 1 - of rush hours. Some flights may be shifted
from T3 to T1 or T2. T3 terminal handles 503 domestic and 253 international
flights daily. The traffic is, in fact, only just close to the pre-covid levels.
Air passengers have been complaining of undue delays and long serpentine queues
at major airports.
"Delhi Airport is becoming one of the world’s most disorganized and frustrating
airports for international travel, with very long lines before immigration and
security. Politicians and senior bureaucrats don’t see the nightly scenes of
chaos as they use VIP facilities," one of the twitteratis posted.
"Delhi airport is just crazy... it resembles fish market, Serpentine queue
at every level n non cooperating Staff of @airvistara Inspite of reaching one
n half hour early they did not let me board the flight," another one wrote.
