'Airport operator's responsibility': Scindia on congestion at major airports, says situation to normalise in 7-10 days

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said the winter rush of passengers at Delhi airport was “unexpected”, adding that all agencies have swung into action in the last 24-36 hours to mitigate congestion at all major airports. He also said that it will take 7-10 days for the situation to normalise, reported NDTV. 

"No one had anticipated such a rush for the winter festival vacations. Between the demand of passengers wanting to travel and the supply by airlines sits the airport, which have to provide a seamless and efficient service. It is the airport operator's responsibility to provide that service. I held a meeting with all the airport operators about this," Scindia told NDTV in an interview. 

Earlier in the told, Scindia said in his LinkedIn post that congestion at entry points and check-in counters at Delhi airport’s T3 Terminal has eased following addition of X-ray machines and deployment of more CISF personnel.

"Congestion at entry points and check-in counters at T3 has eased. Four additional X-ray machines have been added at the Security Hold Area; display boards showing wait time have come up. Deployment of CISF manpower has already kick-started, and will progressively increase in the next few days," he said.

In recent weeks, air passengers have been complaining about long waiting hours at airports, especially at Terminal 3 (T3) of Delhi airport, and authorities have been taking steps to reduce the congestion. Yesterday, several airline operators, including Air India and Indigo, had asked passengers to reach the airport at least 3-4 hours ahead of the flight time. 

"In the last 24-36 hours, all agencies have swung into action to mitigate congestion at every checkpoint at all major airports," he said. At Bengaluru airport, two additional X-ray machines were operationalised on Wednesday.

"It is heartening to see domestic passenger traffic surpass pre-COVID levels, clocking a new record each day. The load factors have touched 95 per cent-plus. Indeed, airport operators, airlines, ground handlers, ATCOs, immigration, security -- the entire circuit is fortunate to be operating at such a time, and only wishes to see this trajectory move onwards and upwards," Scindia said.

On Tuesday, domestic airlines carried nearly 4.12 lakh passengers. While emphasising that this is a great time for the country's civil aviation sector, the minister said the boom needs to be accompanied with a capacity increase across the board.

India houses the third largest aviation market, and with that, "we must also strive to be the best service providers", Scindia said. Further, the minister said that a lot is being done today and much more will be done to brace for the future.

"A strong Rs 98,000 crore capex for airports is in the pipeline. Civil aviation is expanding its reach beyond the metros. There is a lot of potential, and the unleashing of animal spirits has only begun.

"Till then, I am certain that the sector shall continue to ride on a steep learning curve, and emerge stronger from these challenges," he added.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry said that necessary actions taken to reduce congestion at the Delhi airport have resulted in "least wait time" for boarding at check points and entry gates.

On Tuesday, the ministry asked airlines to deploy adequate manpower at all check-in and baggage drop counters well in advance to ensure decongestion and smooth flow of passengers at airports.

(With inputs from agencies)