Safety audit of Delhi airport likely by end-Sept, all domestic airports by year-end: Govt

A cab driver died after a roof collapsed at Delhi IGI Airport's T1 terminal.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) expects the safety report from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport’s Terminal-1 (T-1) roof collapse incident on June 28 to be submitted to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the MoCA by the end of September, multiple officials told Moneycontrol.

"The audit being carried out by IIT (Indian Institute of Technology)-Delhi is likely to be completed by the end of next month, following which BCAS, DGCA and MoCA will come to a conclusion on what caused the death of a taxi driver on June 28,” said a government official.

He ruled out any possibility of malice or neglect from the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) authorities such as the contractors it hires for the airport’s maintenance work. The audit would help understand the reasons behind the incident, he added.

IIT-Delhi is studying the architectural and structural drawings, design criteria and calculations, and structural stability certificate of the canopy of T-1, said an official from the institution, who is part of the audit team.

The team is also looking at carrying out non-destructive tests to determine the strength and quality of the concrete structure that supported the canopy, he added.

Similarly, DIAL could be asked to rebuild the canopy, if required, after IIT-Delhi submits the audit report, according to a government official.

Last week, civil aviation minister Rammohan Naidu told reporters that he expects the audit of the IGI Airport to be completed soon.

"We are regularly following up with both IIT-Delhi and GMR, (which built the IGI Airport), for the audit report," Naidu told reporters on August 22 at the launch of the simplified regulations for seaplane operations under the regional air connectivity scheme (RCS) Udan scheme.

On June 28, extreme rainfall and weather conditions led to the collapse of a portion of the canopy at T-1 of the airport. The debris fell on taxis parked near the entrance, leaving a 45-year-old cab driver dead. Flight operations to and from T-1 have remained suspended since the accident took place.

Taking cognisance of the incident, Naidu not only announced the structural audit by IIT-Delhi, but also directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to issue a circular to all major and minor airports to conduct a thorough inspection of their respective structural strengths.

"AAI has started conducting a structural audit in Srinagar, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune. Reports of the audit are being submitted to the government. We expect the audit of all airports to be completed by the end of the year,” the official said.

Several airports have tied up with technical institutions for the structural safety audit. For instance, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar, is providing assistance to the local Sheikh Ul Alam International Airport, and IIT-Delhi is conducting the audit on behalf of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.

AAI manages more than 100 airports in the country, including in Kozhikode. However, major airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad are managed by private companies.

The DGCA has also been tasked with conducting a high-level probe to ascertain the cause of the roof collapse on June 28 in a bid to prevent future occurrences.