by More people are flying after most countries lifted Covid-19 limits on domestic and international air travel. The flow of passengers has increased the pressure on existing infrastructure at airports and on airlines.
The recent chaos at Delhi airport is due to limited Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel deployed there, causing long waiting times (Photo: Vani Gupta/IndiaToday)
By Tirtho Banerjee: ‘Welcome to Hell… Abandon hope, all of you who enter here’. This caustic remark came from one of the passengers in Delhi Airport’s T3 on 12 December. One tweet likened the overcrowding to a ‘fish market’, while another equated it to the famed ‘Sarojini market’ crowd in Delhi. There was a post that said: Public Service Announcement: If you are taking a flight from Delhi T3, leave at least 5 hours early.
Social media not only reflected the plight of the flyers, but also brought up the deplorable image of the messy national capital airport.
Winding queues, long hours of waiting, luggage strewn all over the place, no trolleys, flight delays, congestion, no support staff, and a security check system gone haywire. There has been total chaos out there at the Delhi airport.
The videos and posts shared by passengers on social media prompted Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to pay a surprise visit to Delhi airport and take stock of the situation. Scindia spoke to airport staff and passengers about the issues they are facing at Delhi airport.
READ ALSO | Aviation Minister pays surprise visit to Delhi airport amid chaos, overcrowding complaints
MUMBAI NOT FAR
The problem is not limited to the Delhi airport. On December 2, it was nothing short of a nightmare when passengers at Mumbai Airport’s Terminal 2 had to struggle for over two hours to complete the check-in process for their flights after the facility’s Internet server crashed. stuck. Airlines were forced to issue manual boarding passes even as queues swelled everywhere, at baggage drop and security checkpoints.
One flyer tweeted: “Sitting on plane for nearly an hour!! Still no clue when we will take off. Crazy chaos at Mumbai airport.”
On 8th October last year, all morning domestic flights were delayed from Mumbai due to inadequate measures to deal with overcrowding due to weekend rush and holiday season.
“T2 AT CSMIA (Mumbai Airport) is a mess. It literally feels like a dark age. Endless crowds, cars breaking down, worn out souls, chaos everywhere. Who’s running this absolute shit show?” one tweeted. passenger then .
READ ALSO | ‘Welcome to hell’: Delhi airport overcrowding complaints flood social media as government takes action
ALSO LONDON AND PARIS
In July this year, many airports across Europe saw similar chaos as passengers overburdened during the summer after Covid-19 restrictions were eased after two long years.
London’s Heathrow Airport has witnessed long security check lines, delays, restricted mobility, accumulation of unclaimed bags and lost or delayed baggage. The chaotic scenes were attributed to staff shortages, which also led to flight disruptions.
The airport apologized, also issuing a warning that it may ask airlines to cut more flights from their summer schedules to address the growing tension.
In July, some flights were grounded while many were delayed due to a strike at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. The strike was called by a union to demand much-needed wage increases along with other benefits amid spiraling inflation.
Airports in Amsterdam, Rome and Frankfurt have also reeled from flight cancellations amid workers’ strikes for better working conditions and higher wages this summer.
READ ALSO | Amid global aviation chaos, UK launches passenger charter to address airport disruption issues
FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES
More people are flying after most countries lifted Covid-19 limits on domestic and international air travel. The flow of passengers has increased the pressure on existing infrastructure at airports and on airlines.
Aside from wage and workplace issues, many airports are facing overcrowding and congestion because their expansion plans have stalled during the pandemic. It will take some time to get those plans back on track.
In March, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) obtained a capacity study conducted by UK-based air traffic management company NATS. He suggested that the four runways of Indira Gandhi International Airport can handle 14 million passengers annually before 2030, double the 6.9 million international and domestic passengers seen in 2019. So, this is undoubtedly a huge potential that will take time to fully exploit.
Mumbai Airport also plans to triple the commercial area of the airport, building multiplexes and moving a major airline to Navi Mumbai Airport to decongest the second busiest airport in the country.
Navi Mumbai Airport will become operational by December 2024 and has a capacity of 2 million passengers. However, this deadline seems too strict after the pandemic.
Staff shortages are another sore point. The recent chaos at Delhi airport is due to the limited Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel deployed there, causing long waiting times.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the regulator of aviation security, has abolished 3,049 CISF aviation security posts to be replaced by 1,924 private security personnel and a parallel introduction of intelligent surveillance technology such as CCTV and scanners for luggage. Is this personal strength enough to manage such a large airport when many of the technological tools go out of order frequently?
READ ALSO | Worried about long queues at the airport? The Ministry of Aviation publishes an action plan to reduce congestion
THE EXIT
We need the deployment of additional systems and manpower at our airports. Also, upgrading the technology is the need of the hour.
Everything from ticketing to baggage to billing to boarding should be made smooth with state-of-the-art technology infrastructure, including 5G. In the future, scanning at security checkpoints will be guided by artificial intelligence. But for now, it is necessary to ensure that the scanning machines are running smoothly.
Mandatory web check-ins will only work if you have a continuous internet connection. More counters can also ease the burden on airline staff and passengers.
One of the reasons behind traffic congestion is the “bundling” of flights during peak hours. Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has reduced the number of flights for relief from congestion – from 22 flights per hour (pre-Covid) to 19 flights per hour (November 2022).
Following Scindia’s visit to the Delhi airport, a 4-point action plan was outlined to urgently resolve the situation. It includes flight debunching which could help reduce peak hour departures to 14 flights. The plan also plans to increase the number of X-ray screening systems from 14 to 16 at the airport. The addition of an Automatic Tray Retrieval System (ATRS) machine was also planned.
In addition, two entry points – Gate 1A and Gate 8B – will be converted for passenger use. Landing papers will be distributed on board and filled in prior to arrival to minimize queues at immigration counters. All plans must focus on improving the passenger experience to make air travel a breeze…
READ ALSO | Delhi airport chaos: Aviation minister lists measures to ease crowding at T3 after surprise check
READ ALSO | Ministry of Aviation outlines four-point action plan to ease congestion at Delhi airport | Details
