T3 tumult: How officials are trying to decongest crowds at Delhi's IGI airport

The past few days have seen chaos at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Passengers, complaining about long queues at check-in and security counters, have flooded social media with pictures of long queues and overcrowding.

Some even complained that they had to wait for two to three hours in the clearance area before their flights.

Been here from last 30 minutes and still not halfway through the security check line on T3, @DelhiAirport

What is going on?@AAI_Official help please 🙏
#help #airports #waiting pic.twitter.com/p8JLBmqYTz

— Riya Bhatia (@riyatennis) December 8, 2022

Utter chaos at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International #Airport #India with fights breaking out. 3 hrs from curbside to clearing security. pic.twitter.com/wNVo8fOQTb

— Nirmal Ghosh (@karmanomad) December 10, 2022

Daily affair at IGI T3
Coming to Delhi airport is no less than an self inflicted agony and a harassment
No support, planning and action by cisf
missing ✈️, fighting, long standing queues, no battery cars #hopelessT3 #Delhiaiport @JM_Scindia @MoCA_India @DelhiAirport @CISFHQrs pic.twitter.com/seTTmV3NDk

— Goddess $ (@lovably_wicked) December 10, 2022

Now, after the Centre held a high-level meeting on Thursday – attended by Home Affairs Ministry officers, the Minister of Civil Aviation, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) – to find a solution, authorities are implementing a slew of measures to decongest check-in, entry and immigration points at Terminal 3 (T3).

Let’s take a closer look:

Additional X-Ray machines, display boards at security checkpoints

Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said officials have swung into action to mitigate congestion at all major airports.

He tweeted: “Congestion at entry points and check-in counters at T3 has eased. 4 additional X-Ray machines have been added at the Security Hold Area; display boards showing wait times have come up. Deployment of CISF manpower has already kick-started, and will progressively increase in the next few days.”

He further stressed the use of DigiYatra, the facial recognition technology-based system recently launched at airports, saying that it would “facilitate some ease”.

Reducing flights, increasing manpower

The aviation ministry has recommended reducing the number of flights and deploying more manpower at all check-in and luggage drop counters between the peak hours of 5 and 9 am.

The Centre will also analyse manpower requirements at immigration counters, and if required, deploy additional personnel.

The National Capital airport has also started alerting passengers of the wait time on social media.

Terminal 3 Update at 06:00 hours

Smooth passengers movement observed at all terminal entry gates with an average waiting time of 0-5 minutes. Smart Travel Tip: For a smooth security check experience, travel with only one hand baggage as cabin luggage to the airport pic.twitter.com/nxgDdUximZ

— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) December 14, 2022

At T3 departure gates, boards have been put up  to inform flyers about waiting time and to help them avoid chaos, delay or overcrowding.

Display boards have been installed at all departure entry gates of the airport, which provides real-time data and is being shared via social media. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/o6UdLFREZD

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) December 14, 2022

Airlines issue advisory

Due to high footfalls, Indigo, SpiceJet, and Air India have asked passengers to reach the airport early and not carry more than one hand baggage.

SpiceJet said check-in and boarding are expected to take much longer than usual due to overcrowding.

A decision on the deployment of additional 1,200 CISF personnel at the airport could be taken today, reported India Today.

Currently, there are more than 5,000 CISF personnel at the airport in order to help with security checks and duties like anti-terrorism.

Reasons for congestion at the airport

The Delhi airport is one of the busiest airports in the country. It manages over 500 domestic and 250 international flights.

T3, which is at the centre of the commotion, handles over 1.9 - 1.95 lakh passengers on daily basis.

There is an unexpected rise in the number of flyers this holiday season. The authorities have blamed less manpower, especially the crunch in security staff.

This has also resulted in air traffic of one to seven per cent above pre-COVID levels of four lakh daily flyers for the past ten days, reported Mint.

With inputs from agencies

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