Airlines make passengers reach airport early to avoid chaos & confusion at the last minute.
Media professional Shakti Kumar (name changed), who had recently booked a ticket on a morning GoAir flight from Mumbai to Delhi, was completely taken aback on receiving a message from the airline’s call centre informing him to report at the airport three hours prior to the scheduled departure. The message cited air traffic congestion as the reason.
“I don't understand how air traffic congestion is connected to passengers' arrival at the airport. How is calling fliers early going to help?" said Kumar.
Martin Roy, an interior designer, faced a similar situation when travelling from Kolkata to Mumbai on a Spicejet flight. “As if the two-hour wait at the airport was not bad enough, an hour extra seems like a pain,” Roy said.
Despite repeated attempts, GoAir and Spicejet spokespersons remained unavailable for comment.
Industry experts said this new tactic employed by the airlines could be to make passengers arrive at the airport on time, because when a majority reach just in time for check-in, it creates chaos and causes delay.
As per industry standards, a passenger travelling within India should check in 45 minutes before departure. However, to be on the safer side it seems, airlines have been asking domestic passengers to report two hours prior to departure and international passengers three hours prior to departure.
“Security clearance and baggage check-in tend to take time during peak hours. Hence, asking passengers to come an hour before departure is enough and reasonable, three hours is ridiculous,” said Air Passenger Association president Sudhakar Reddy.
Civil aviation experts said this tactic by airlines is likely to end up congesting the waiting lounges at the airport.
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