Scindia’s surprise visit sends Delhi airport officials into a tizzy

A four-point action plan has been devised to ease the movement of passengers at the airport, following discussions between Civil Aviation Ministry and Delhi International Airport Limited

New Delhi, Dec 12: A day after complaints of acute passenger congestion emanated from Terminal-3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Sunday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia paid a surprise visit to the terminal, sending the airport officials into a tizzy.

A video released by Scindia's office said, "It was a surprise visit of the minister to the airport and he inspected all the suspected congested areas and interacted with the airport staff to ensure maximum to avoid overcrowding."

According to a statement of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, following the inspection, the minister held a meeting with all stakeholders in the DIAL office where key directions were issued (with timelines on each), and we should see changes take effect from tomorrow to the next 6-7 days, according to a report.

Scindia's visit came after passengers flooded the social media platforms with complaints of overcrowding, causing them to miss their flights. One of the complainants was Rocky Singh, the host of a renowned cuisine and travel show on TV and the internet. He wrote "Welcome to Hell" alongside a picture of a really long line at security.

"5:30 am Delhi T3 and welcome to HELL... 35 minutes to get into the airport - 25 minutes at a comparatively empty Vistara and now... the mother of all security lines... SECURITY," Rocky said in a tweet.

The minister's action was obviously in reaction to the widespread criticism of the airport authorities' inability in handling the congestion. The visit, however, initiated a flurry of activities in the airport establishment. It has now devised a four-point action plan to ease the movement of passengers at the airport and reduce congestion.

According to officials, the action plan was developed following discussions between Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and the Ministry, and it is being implemented as an emergency corrective step. The present 14 X-ray screening systems will be supplemented by two new ones under the action plan. More personnel have been assigned to the Automatic Tray Retrieval System (ATRS).

The officials said, "Two entry points Gate 1A and Gate 8B will now be converted for passenger usage. De-bunching of flights is also envisaged in consultation with airlines to progressively reduce the peak hour departures to 14 at T3 terminal," they added.

(With input from ANI)