Some MPs even questioned why domestic fliers were asked to reach the airport 3.5 hours ahead of flight time amid reports of congestion and overcrowding at Delhi airport.
New Delhi ,UPDATED: Dec 15, 2022 22:16 IST
Representational Image (Reuters)
By Poulomi Saha: The congestion at Delhi airport will ease by the end of December, GMR Group Managing Director K Narayana Rao told the members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture on Thursday.
The panel questioned the representatives of Delhi airport and those from airports owned by the Adani Group over congestion and overcrowding at the country’s major airports. Appearing before the committee, Narayana Rao said, “Whatever is required to address the situation, has been done. We are working with the government.”
When asked why the airport was overcrowded of late, Rao said, “Compared to pre-Covid times and now, per aircraft, passenger load factor has gone up, and the number of bags has also gone up (sic). We are addressing that.”
While the airport representatives appeared before the committee on the subject of the development of greenfield and brownfield airports, the conversation quickly turned to recent overcrowding at airports, especially at Delhi airport, that has led to chaos and passengers missing flights.
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Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia recently took stock of the situation and ordered a slew of measures. On Thursday morning, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla convened a meeting with DG, CISF, and other officials from Airports Authority of India, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and Immigration to address the issue of inadequate security personnel at Delhi airport.
But these measures were seen as “piecemeal” by the MPs who attended the parliamentary panel meeting, as per sources who spoke to India Today TV. Given that Delhi airport is currently seeing an annual footfall of 70 million and is expected to touch 109 million by 2023, the emphasis, MPs argued, should be on infrastructure enhancement at the terminal building level.
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To this end, members of the panel suggested there should be two more ‘arms’ of entry/exit points to the airport.
“Currently the airport is like a funnel, that everyone is pushed into from one end and then they head towards their respective boarding gates that could be very far away,” said a source.
MPs also questioned if the airport expansion plans have been commensurate with the growth of traffic at Delhi airport.
Some MPs even questioned why domestic fliers were asked to reach the airport 3.5 hours ahead of flight time. GMR and DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited) representatives at the meeting explained it was airlines that were suggesting the same, not airports.
