PremiumDelhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), on Wednesday, claimed that chaos have reduced at Terminal 3 of the airport. Besides, the passengers' movement has also turned smoother at all terminal entry gates with an average waiting time of 0-5 minutes on Wednesday.
Contrary to Delhi airport authority, some passengers said the chaos at the terminal has remained unchanged. And most of them were disgruntled about waiting at the airport for nearly 4 hours to catch their flights.
To streamline the immigration process, incoming international passengers are being encouraged to complete the Immigration Paper Landing Cards while onboard.
Manpower has also been deployed at the disembarkation point to facilitate passengers who have not filled the papers onboard, for speedy completion before they reach the immigration counter.
To control congestion during peak hours, an action plan has been put out in place by authorities at Terminal 3 of the IGI airport. This after Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia personally took stock of the situation last Wednesday.
Officials said certain changes have been effected at DIAL airport T3 in the last four days and these pertain to several areas, including entry, security, and the immigration process. They said real-time updates on waiting time will be posted on social media.
Traffic marshals have been posted at the departure forecourt to avoid vehicular congestion, officials said.
Officials said there are 16 entry gates at T3 (14 for passengers and two for crew). Two additional gates have been opened, taking the total to 18 gates (16 for passengers, 2 for crew).
In terms of security, additional X-ray machines have been installed in T3's domestic terminal. Additional manpower has also been deployed in the ATRS (Automatic Tray Retrieval System) area to help passengers to retrieve trays and ensure congestion management.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Transport, Tourism, and Culture has summoned the chief executive officer of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and others on 15 December as passengers face congestion at the IGI airport.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) added 100 more personnel to man new security counters
There could be several reasons behind it, such as passengers are inversely proportional to security staff and counters.
The congestion could also be due to the upcoming holiday season – with Christmas and New Year’s just around the corner.
It could also be a case of revenge travel. Revenge travel is slang for leisure travel when one takes a vacation after being unable to do so for a long time. Many people had not been able to travel due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Domestic air traffic is on the rise, and airlines carried more than 4.18 lakh people on 12 December
Yesterday, the civil aviation ministry asked airlines to deploy adequate manpower at all check-in and baggage drop counters.
Besides, the ministry has requested the scheduled airlines to place real time data on their social media feeds regarding waiting time at respective airports' entry gates.
Angel investor and business strategist Lloyd Mathias said that asking passengers to come 3-4-5 hours earlier won't solve the problem. The former CMO at Motorola suggested to increase, “Counters, speedup check-in's; have better tech for REAL baggage drop and work with AAI and CRPF for smarter security".
All domestic airlines have urged passengers to reach as early as possible to the airport so they don't miss flights. Due to long queues at the airports, especially Delhi airport Terminal 3, several passengers missed their flights in the past few days. To resolve the situation, the airlines asked travellers to visit early to the airport terminal.
IndiGo and Air India have asked passengers to reach Delhi airport at least 3.5 hours prior to domestic departures.
Vistara asked its passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours prior to domestic as well as international flights.
Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor praised the Delhi airport authority for fixing the T3 terminal entry waiting times even at peak hours.
" Entry time 0-5 minutes at all entrances at all times yesterday and into this morning. No 15-30 min wait times at any time anymore," Kapoor added.
A journalist shared her experience of travelling through Delhi airport today.
She summarised it saying, "Do reach at least 3.5 hours before the morning flight if you are flying from Delhi T3".
Delhi airport has shared two smart travel tips for passengers to avoid congestion at the T3 terminal. The airport authority has suggested passengers to use DigiYatra app and carry only one hand baggage as cabin luggage to the airport.
The Delhi airport has claimed that smooth terminal entry was seen at the gates on Wednesday, with an average waiting time of 0-5 minutes. In a series of tweets, the DIAL maintained that waiting time at the entry gates reduced on 14 December.
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