Aviation minister says Delhi airport situation will improve in 7-10 days

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia

Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on December 14 said that even though the congestion at Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport has eased in the last few days, for things to return to normal it will still take 7-10 days.

The minister added that the rush at Delhi airport was "unexpected" and that efforts have been made to clear the bottlenecks that had led to the massive congestion.

The minister added that all agencies have swung into action in the last 24-36 hours to mitigate congestion at all major airports.

"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 times have come up. Deployment of CISF manpower has already kick-started, and will progressively increase in the next few days," he said.

Scindia, in a LinkedIn post, said these steps will be emulated at the Bengaluru and Mumbai airports as well.

He, however, pointed out that this boom also needs to be accompanied by 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. A lot is being done today, and much more will be done to brace for the future,” he said.

Scindia also said that Rs 98,000 crore capex is in the pipeline for airports. As the aviation network is expanding beyond metros, there is a lot of potentials. Unleashing of animal spirits has only begun, he said.

The minister’s statement comes at a time when daily domestic air passenger traffic has reached pre-pandemic level. As of Tuesday, daily traffic was at 411,907, with several major airlines such as Air India, Go First, and SpiceJet, recording load factors above 90 percent.

The government-controlled Airports Authority of India is undertaking the development of new and existing airports with a projected capital expenditure of around Rs. 25,000 crore over the period of 2019-20 to 2023-24.

Major airports such as those located in metro cities and operated by private consortiums have also lined up capital expenditure for expansion.

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

On December 13, 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.