The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has proposed that passengers be allowed to leave the airport in case their departures have been delayed and suggested changes to protocol that would speed up the number of checks that a traveller has to go through while re-entering the airport.

According to officials aware of a meeting between DIAL and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security of India (BCAS), the proposal is under consideration with the latter, which sets rules for security arrangements in airports across the country.

At present, no passengers can exit the departure terminal unless they inform the airline concerned and it drops their names from the flight manifest, according to an airport official , who asked not to named.

The replacement of the “tedious” process, the official added, will allow passengers to head out into the city or even home in cases when flights are delayed for long.

Current rules allow for a passenger to leave the airport and re-enter, but the process takes long and the passenger needs to be escorted by airline officials till they are handed over to security. “In cases where a flight has been indefinitely delayed or cancelled, we allow passengers to exit the terminal on directions of the airline. In such cases the passenger leaves the airport with his luggage. If the passenger has completed security check-in and needs to exit and then return, a new boarding pass is issued and airline decides on the luggage,” said Hemendra Singh, an assistant inspector general of the Central Industrial Security Force, which oversees security arrangements at the airport.

“In individual cases or in cases of emergency, a flight official escorts the particular passenger up to the terminal exit and CISF is then informed,” the AIG added.

The proposal includes streamlining the exit process and removing the need for a new boarding pass for passengers who want to leave.

Officials said that one way this could be done without compromising security is by having an option for separate entry that would consume less time since their baggage would already be with the airlines.

The airport official quoted in the first instance said that it might take a couple of months before the facility comes into effect since the BCAS is studying the proposal.

A BCAS officer, who did not wish to be named, confirmed the proposal was raised in a recent meeting and it is being looked into.

The facility, if cleared, will be available for both domestic as well as the international flyers. However, a foreign passenger whose visa is expiring the same day or those with single-entry visas will not be able to avail the facility, the officials said.

First Published: Jan 06, 2019 07:50 IST