55 more immigration counters at Delhi’s IGI airport by January

Twenty of these counters will be opened by November-end (Representational photo)

As many as 55 additional immigration counters will be opened at Delhi’s IGI airport, taking the number of such booths to 130 by January. Besides, 1,800 more personnel will be deployed to deal with the growing passenger traffic, the Home Ministry said.

Twenty of these counters will be opened by November-end at the country’s busiest airport, which has the capacity to handle 60.4 million passengers per annum. Of these, 16 million are international passengers.

At a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, it was decided that immediate action will be taken for technological upgradation, provision of modern equipment and additional space, and hiring professional manpower to improve services.

The Delhi International Airport Limited will provide space for at least 10 more immigration counters at the departure area by November 15, while additional space will be provided for another 10 immigration counters to be functional by January 2018, a Home Ministry official said.

At least 10 e-visa counters will be made functional for foreigners by November 30. Apart from this, 25 more immigration counters will be made functional by January. “This will facilitate foreigners availing electronic visa, which is becoming increasingly popular,” the official said.

Each passenger spends about 90 seconds at an immigration counter and the authorities are planning to reduce it to 30 seconds, officials said, adding that this will, however, take some time.