Delhi airport chaos: Smooth passenger movement, waiting period up to 5 mins at entry gate, says DIAL

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Wednesday stated that the waiting period at all entry gates at Terminal 3 has been reduced. This comes against the backdrop of rising passenger complaints of long waiting hours at Delhi airport.

"Terminal 3 update at 07:30 hours. Smooth passengers movement observed at all terminal entry gates with an average waiting time of 0-5 minutes. Carry one handbag as your cabin luggage to expedite the security check," the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) tweeted. The airport has been been tweeting updates on the waiting time periodically. 

In an earlier tweet, Delhi Airport recommended passengers to use DigiYatra, that allows entry of air passengers based on a facial recognition system at the airport. The service was recently launched in the capital by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

"For a significantly faster experience at every touch point, we recommend domestic passengers to use #DigiYatra," DIAL said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday rapped airlines for not deploying sufficient manpower at their counters at "certain airports" amid complaints of congestion at Delhi airport leading to long waiting time.

It said that the airline check-in counters at certain airports were found unmanned or inadequately manned during early morning hours leading to congestion at the airports, thereby causing inconvenience to the passengers.

"Scheduled airlines are therefore advised to deploy sufficient manpower at all check-in/baggage drop counters well in advance to ensure de-congestion and smooth flow of passengers at airports," it added.

Earlier, airline IndiGo asked passengers to reach the airport at least 3.5 hours before their departure time.

"The Delhi airports are experiencing high footfalls and the check-in and boarding time is expected to be longer than usual. Passengers are requested to reach the airport at least 3.5 hrs prior to domestic departures, and to carry only one piece of hand baggage weighing seven kgs for a smooth security check," the airline said.  

Also Read: Airport congestion: Centre raps airlines for unmanned check-in counters at 'certain airports'