Delhi Airport T3 Congestion: IndiGo Asks Domestic Passengers To Reach 3.5 Hours Before The Flight
The chaos at terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi shows no signs of easing soon as passengers struggle with long check-in queues. IGI has three terminals -- T1, T2 and T3. On average, it handles around 1.90 lakh passengers and about 1,200 flights daily. This includes all international and some domestic flights. On Tuesday, Indigo airline issued a travel advisory asking passengers to reach the Delhi airport at least 3.5 ...Read More
The chaos at terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi shows no signs of easing soon as passengers struggle with long check-in queues.
IGI has three terminals -- T1, T2 and T3. On average, it handles around 1.90 lakh passengers and about 1,200 flights daily.
This includes all international and some domestic flights.
Early morning at a Delhi fish market! At least a dozen scuffles have broken out in the last 20 mins. #DelhiAirport pic.twitter.com/tU6Oi3rBhx
¡ª Nikhil Inamdar (@Nik_Inamdar) December 13, 2022
This morning's Delhi airport saga!
¡ª Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) December 13, 2022
The security lines at Delhi airport were last seen in front of ration shops in the seventies. Or East Bengal Mohun Bagan match ticket counters.
These days people are saying go 4 hours before your flight. So for an 8 am flight I should be at the airport at 4 am, meaning I should leave home me by 3 am or so? This is nuts. Delhi airport is a mess that a ministerial visit can¡¯t solve. Just increase the CISF capacity pls https://t.co/xaMxyrRuk1
¡ª Shivam Vij (@DilliDurAst) December 12, 2022
Reach Delhi airport at least 3.5 hours early
On Tuesday, Indigo airline issued a travel advisory asking passengers to reach the Delhi airport at least 3.5 hours before domestic departures.
The airline has also asked the passengers to carry only one piece of hand baggage weighing 7 kg for a smooth security check.
The Delhi airports are experiencing high footfalls and the check-in and boarding time are expected to be longer than usual. Passengers are requested to reach the airport at least 3.5 hours prior to domestic departures, and to carry only one piece of hand baggage weighing 7 kg for a smooth security check," Indigo said in a statement on Twitter.
"Please ensure that you complete your web check-in, for added convenience," it said.
The airline also guided the air passengers to use gate numbers 5 and 6 to enter Delhi Airport, Terminal 3, as these are nearest to the IndiGo check-in counters.
#6ETravelAdvisory #DelhiAirportUpdate #goIndiGo @MoCA_GoI @JM_Scindia pic.twitter.com/l9pDfm4Or6
¡ª IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) December 12, 2022
Delhi Airport announces new measures
On Monday, Delhi airport authorities had put in place an action plan to reduce the congestion at Terminal 3, especially during the peak hours -- 5 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 8 pm,
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.
TWITTER
Crowd managers will guide travellers. Further, airlines will be notified about the crowd numbers so that check-in points can be made congestion-free.
As part of the action plan, the number of flights from 5 am to 9 am will be reduced and it will also be explored to move some flights to T1 and T2 or non-peak hours at T3.
#PassengerUpdate
¡ª Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) December 12, 2022
Passengers can carry one hand baggage as their cabin luggage. The exclusions to this rule have also been carefully pointed out here for your convenience.
For more details please get in touch with the airline concerned.#DELairport #DelhiAirport pic.twitter.com/WvA6zNDMoV
Before COVID-19, 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 expanded further to 17 soon and subsequently to 20.
Additional workforce will be deployed
Further, an analysis of the workforce requirements at immigration counters will be undertaken immediately, and if required, additional staff will be deployed.
Among other steps, all airlines must keep their counters entirely manned, especially during peak hours.
TWITTER
Digital display boards showing waiting time at each entry gate and at least one waiting time board at the terminal checkpoint will be put in place.
The new arrangements were announced amid an increase in passenger complaints about long waiting hours at the airport, which even forced Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to visit the airport.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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