BackCentre steps in as airports choke with record traffic
Airports must reduce the number of flights during peak hours between 5 am and 9 am
PremiumNEW DELHI : The civil aviation ministry on Monday issued guidelines to manage congestion at airports as passenger traffic touched record levels with the onset of the year-end holiday season amid capacity constraints at airports across India.
According to the ministry, airports and airlines must reduce the number of flights during peak hours between 5 am and 9 am, as part of the action plan.
Congestion at major airports, such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, came into focus after flyers flooded social media with complaints of delays due to congestion at entry points to the airport and serpentine queues at check-in counters, and security clearances as well as delays in the immigration processes since last week, which led to many passengers even missing their flights.
The ministry issued the guidelines following a ground inspection of the Delhi International Airport by aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia earlier in the day. The government is assessing the situation and is looking to shift 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 on 7 December with the managements of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports, and officials of the Central Industrial Security Force and Immigration department.
The latest action plan for Delhi airport also includes two more entry gates for international terminals to 16 entry points, increasing the number of X-ray machines for security check to 16 from 14. It said passengers must complete the landing card beforehand for faster immigration clearance.
The ministry also directed airport authorities to put up digital display boards at entry gates for information on wait time, setting up a command centre for real-time monitoring of crowds, deploying crowd managers and usherers, and notifying airlines about passenger traffic at entry gates. It also asked airports to increase the automatic tray retrieval system machines for baggage check from 13 to 20.
At Delhi airport, airlines must man all counters, especially during peak hours, the ministry said.
Similar directives were also issued to other major airports where air traffic has surged, a senior aviation ministry official said, seeking anonymity.
On 11 November, 427,517 departures were recorded, the highest level since the onset of covid. This is nearly 7% above the average daily traffic of around 400,000 air passengers in 2019.
Mumbai International Airport handled record passenger movement with 150,988 travellers transiting through it on 10 December. 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. Domestic traffic reached close to pre-covid levels, an airport official said requesting anonymity.
Recently-launched Digi Yatra facility is expected to facilitate faster movement of passenger traffic at terminals, but may have limited impact immediately as it is valid for domestic flights. Besides, passengers with check-in luggage will still have to stand in queues, the official added.
Deployment of additional personnel for immigration, especially during peak hours, is also expected to ease movement of arriving international passengers, he said.
As part of the ministry’s action plan for Delhi airport, an analysis of manpower requirements at immigration counters will be undertaken immediately and, if need be, additional personnel will be deployed.
At Mumbai airport, terminal operations teams have been deployed at self baggage-drop and check-in kiosks to decongest traditional check in counters, a Mumbai airport spokesperson said. If there is a sudden surge in traffic, passengers are prioritized as per departure timings, he added.
To accommodate both domestic and foreign traffic during the peak hours, we have changed two international automated tray retrieval system lanes into swing lanes and personnel have been deployed at all checkpoints to ensure crowd rerouting and even distribution between zones, a spokesperson for Bengaluru International airport said.
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