T3 chaos: IndiGo, Air India issue advisory, asks passengers to reach airport 3.5 hours in advance

Passengers have been taking to Twitter to complain about serpentine queues at security checks and unhelpful staff. (Image credit: @SundeepMatharoo/TTwitter)

Air India has become the latest domestic carrier to issue advisory to passengers asking them to reach Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) at least three and a half hours ahead of their flights and avoid peak rush.

#DelhiAirportTravelAdvisory
Passengers are advised to reach at least 3.5 hours for domestic and 4 hours for international before their flight departure times for faster movement at the Airport.#AirIndia #ImportantUpdate pic.twitter.com/VElT0fvqT8

— Air India (@airindiain) December 13, 2022

Earlier, India’s biggest airline IndiGo on December 13 asked passengers to reach Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport three and a half hours ahead of their flights and avoid peak hour flying as Terminal 3 (T3) struggles with long queues and harried passengers.

IndiGo’s advisory for passengers come as social media has been flooded with complaints of chaos at the country’s biggest airport, which saw aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia conduct a surprise check on December 12.

The government recently said it was working with airlines to reduce departures to 14 during peak hours to reduce congestion. As many as 2,827 domestic and 471 international flights took off from the airport on December 11.

Also Read | Delhi Airport Congestion: Bad planning and limited capacity to blame

Here is IndiGo’s advisory for passengers:

In the mornings, peak hours are 5 to 9 am and in the evenings, 4 to 8 pm. Therefore, flying during these hours is best avoided if possible.

Passengers should arrive at least three and half hours before the scheduled domestic flight.

When travelling domestically, passengers should take advantage of DigiYatra.

Also Read | Beat T3 chaos, your face can be the boarding pass with DigiYatra; here is how to get started

What is DigiYatra?

The DigiYatra programme is a collaborative effort between the civil aviation ministry and DigiYatra Foundation, which uses facial recognition technology to automatically process passengers' entry into airports, security checkpoints, and boarding gates.