Center steps in as airports choke with record traffic

According to the ministry, as part of the action plan, airports and airlines should reduce the number of flights during peak hours between 5 am and 9 pm.

Congestion at major airports such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru came into focus after passengers took to social media with complaints of overcrowding at airport entry gates and sloppy queues at check-in counters, and delays due to security clearance as well as delays. Flooded the media. In the immigration procedures since last week, due to which many passengers had to miss their flights too.

The ministry issued the guidelines after Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia conducted a ground inspection of the Delhi International Airport earlier in the day. The government is assessing the situation and considering shifting some of these flights from Delhi’s T3 international terminal to domestic terminals- T1 and T2 or operating some flights from T3 during non-peak hours.

Scindia also held a meeting with the management of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports and officials of the Central Industrial Security Force and Immigration Department on 7 December.

The latest action plan for Delhi airport also includes two more entry gates to 16 entry points for international terminals, increasing the number of X-ray machines for security checks from 14 to 16. ,

The ministry asked airport authorities to install digital display boards at entry gates for information on waiting times, set up a command center for real-time monitoring of congestion, deploy crowd managers and ushers, and monitor passenger traffic at entry gates. I have also directed to inform the airlines. It also asked airports to increase automated tray retrieval system machines from 13 to 20 to check baggage.

The ministry said airlines should man all counters at the Delhi airport, especially during peak hours.

A senior aviation ministry official said on condition of anonymity that similar instructions have been issued for other major airports where there has been a surge in air traffic.

On 11 November, 427,517 departures were recorded, the highest level since the start of Covid. This is about 7% higher than the average daily traffic of about 400,000 air passengers in 2019.

Mumbai International Airport registered a record passenger handling on 10 December with 150,988 passengers. The last recorded highest domestic passenger movement for Mumbai was 1,06,713 on 22 December 2017.

International traffic at Delhi airport is currently hovering at 60-70% of pre-Covid levels. An airport official, requesting anonymity, said domestic traffic has recovered to near pre-Covid levels.

The recently introduced Digi Yatra facility is expected to facilitate faster movement of passenger traffic at the terminals, but may have limited immediate impact as it is valid for domestic flights. Besides, passengers with check-in luggage will still have to stand in queues, the official said.

The deployment of additional personnel for immigration, especially during peak hours, is also expected to ease the movement of incoming international passengers, he added.

As part of the Ministry’s action plan for Delhi airport, the manpower requirements at the immigration counters will be analyzed immediately and additional personnel will be deployed if required.

A Mumbai airport spokesperson said terminal operations teams at Mumbai airport have been deployed at self-baggage drop off and check-in kiosks to reduce congestion at traditional check-in counters. He said that if there is a sudden increase in traffic, passengers are given priority according to the departure time.

To accommodate both domestic and foreign traffic during peak hours, we have converted two international Automated Tray Retrieval System lanes into swing lanes and personnel have been deployed at all checkpoints to re-route congestion and ensure equitable distribution between zones, said a spokesperson for the Bengaluru International Airport.