Unaware of shift to T2, hundreds arrive at wrong IGI terminal on Day 1

NEW DELHI: After many a hurdle, Terminal 2 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport finally became fully operational on Sunday with both IndiGo and SpiceJet partially shifting their operations from Terminal 1.
Despite efforts by DIAL and the airlines to ensure a seamless transition, confusion prevailed as scores of passengers ended up at Terminal 1. This, despite large hoardings and banners having been placed on the way to the airport about the move as well as SMS alerts and calls to passengers.



TOI did a ground check on the first day and found that most passengers who ended up at the wrong terminal had either not checked their tickets properly, or booked them well in advance, as a result of which T1 was mentioned on their tickets. Some simply said they were not aware of the move.

Kamal Dulhani, a businessman taking an IndiGo flight to Visakhapatnam, said: “I didn’t know about the shift to T2 and there was no prior information about it. I was told that I need to take a shuttle to T2.” Vineesh Babu, who had to board a flight to Bangalore, said: “I got to know about the shift only when I reached the airport.”

But help was at hand at T1 for Dulhani, Babu and several others like them in the form of airline staff members who were seen standing next to CISF personnel. A CISF officer said the confusion was kept to the minimum. An employee at the shuttle bus service counter said nearly 400 people had been ferried from T1 to T2 between 7am and 2pm alone. “People from outside Delhi faced the maximum problem. Those who had booked their flights in advance had T1 mentioned on their tickets and, therefore, there was some confusion,” he said.

Long queues could be seen outside T2 due to lower number of gates compared to T1.

Both airlines confirmed that no flights were missed. “With 18 flights taking off from T2 in less than 12 hours, IndiGo recorded on-time departures of all its flights with zero ‘no-shows’. IndiGo worked with DIAL to ensure that the transition is seamless and all passengers flying from T2 are aptly made aware of the move,” an IndiGo statement said.

Aditya Ghosh, president and whole-time director, IndiGo, said: “We are delighted to announce that the shift of our partial operations to Terminal 2 has gone off without a hitch. On day one, all our departures left either on time or before time without any no-shows.”

SpiceJet, too, said that the transition was without hiccups. “There have been eight departures till now from T2 with more to follow in the evening and night. We have seen seamless operations and all flights have been on time. There has been excellent and coordinated teamwork by the SpiceJet ground staff,” a SpiceJet spokesperson said.