The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) along with airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on Monday came out with a five-point action plan to avoid congestion and mess during the peak hours.
The measures include reducing flights during morning peak hours and to shift some flights to Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 or to non-peak hours at Terminal 3 and display wait time at arrival gates.
This comes after the Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday morning made a surprise visit to Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), amid complaints of congestion and overcrowding for the past few days.
Sources said that changes could be seen taking effect within the next six to seven days. The winter holiday rush and wedding season has paid rich dividends to the aviation sector but airports at Delhi’s IGI, Mumbai and Bengaluru have seen irate passengers complaining on social media about missed flights and serpentine pre-boarding lines. The situation may worsen after the Christmas rush which is expected to start in a week if remedial measures are not taken.
Interestingly, this is the first time that over 4.27 lakh passengers boarded domestic flights on Sunday, the highest since Covid outbreak in March 2020 and also higher than the pre-pandemic daily average of 4.2 lakh. Not only Delhi’s IGI airport’s T3 but Mumbai T2 and Bengaluru also witnessed huge rush.
Passengers have been complaining for weeks about how departure from T3 is a tedious process. Visuals from the airport shared on social media show men and women lined up in queues for security check, with some saying they had to wait for two to three hours in the clearance area.
As per the new action plan announced by the airport operator, apart from posting real-time updates on waiting time on social media, a command centre will monitor crowding at the gates on a real-time basis. “A command center will monitor crowding at the gates real-time,” the Ministry said in a statement.
The Government has also asked Delhi international airport to deploy crowd managers and ushers to guide travelers. Airlines will be notified of the crowd numbers so that check-in points can be made congestion-free. Real-time updates on wait time will also be posted on social media, the Ministry said. The Government has also asked airlines to keep their check-in counters completely manned, especially during peak hours.
The Government also asked Delhi Airport to increase the Automatic Tray Retrieval System used for security checks. “The number of security check counters has been increased to 16 (10 ATRS + 6 conventional x-ray machines) in the last few days. This will be increased further to 17 soon, and subsequently to 20,” the Ministry said.
The Ministry also said that an analysis of the manpower requirements at immigration counters will be undertaken immediately at Delhi Airport, and if need be, additional manpower will be deployed. The ministry also said that it will work with airlines and airports to reduce flights during peak hours between 5 am to 9 am. IGIA has three terminals -- T1, T2 and T3. All international flights and some domestic services operate from T3. On an average, it handles around 1.90 lakh passengers and about 1,200 flights daily.
Earlier, Scindia visited IGIA on Monday morning and held discussions with all stakeholders on ways to address the congestion at the airport. Scindia, along with senior Ministry officials, visited Terminal 3 of the airport amid complaints from passengers about long queues and waiting hours in recent days. Visuals showed the Minister talking with officials as he took stock of the arrangements. In order to reduce congestion at the Terminal-3, Ministry officials said that they will be reducing flights
Officials said the Minister inspected in the morning the arrangements made to address the congestion, and key directions were issued with specific timelines. The measures will be implemented soon, and the changes are expected to take effect in the next six to seven days, the officials said.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, there were 13 ATRS machines installed on the ground -- 11 for passengers + 2 for crew and specially-abled. This number has been increased to 16 (10 ATRS + 6 conventional X-ray machines) in the last few days. This will be increased further to 17 soon, and subsequently to 20, the officials said.
Further, they said an analysis of the manpower requirements at immigration counters will be undertaken immediately, and if required, additional manpower will be deployed. Among other steps, all airlines will be required to keep their counters completely manned, especially during peak hours.
