Congestion complaints: Parliamentary Committee for Transport summons CEO of IGI airport on Dec 15

New Delhi [India], December 13 (ANI): The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Transport, Tourism and Culture has summoned the chief executive officer of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and others on December 15 amid reports of passengers facing congestion at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, informed an official of the committee.

The committee led by YSR Rajya Sabha MP Vijaysai Reddy took suo motu cognisance of complaints of passenger inconvenience at the Delhi airport before issuing summons to the DIAL CEO.

Meanwhile, an action plan has been put in place by authorities to reduce peak-hour congestion at Terminal 3 of the IGI airport. This after Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia personally took stock of the situation last Wednesday.

Officials said certain changes have been effected at DIAL airport T3 in the last four days and these pertain to several areas, including entry, security and the immigration process. They said real-time updates on waiting time will be posted on social media.

Traffic marshals have been posted at the departure forecourt to avoid vehicular congestion, officials said.

Officials said there are 16 entry gates at T3 (14 for passengers and two for crew). Two additional gates have been opened, taking the total to 18 gates (16 for passengers, 2 for crew).

Awareness posters have also been put up at the entry gate for passengers to be ready with their boarding passes beforehand to save time during check.

Dedicated resources have been deployed at the entry gates to usher passengers in.

In terms of security, additional X-ray machines have been installed in T3's domestic terminal. Additional manpower has also been deployed in the ATRS (Automatic Tray Retrieval System) area to help passengers to retrieve trays and ensure congestion management.

Apart from awareness posters, mobile alerts are also being sent to inform passengers on the dos and don'ts.

To streamline the immigration process, incoming international passengers are being encouraged to complete the Immigration Paper Landing Cards while onboard.

Manpower has also been deployed at the disembarkation point to facilitate passengers who have not filled the papers onboard, for speedy completion before they reach the immigration counter.

Officials also said there are digital display boards showing the waiting time at each entry gate and a least wait time board at the terminal checkpoint. A Command Centre will also monitor crowding at the gates real-time.

Scindia on Monday paid a surprise visit to the airport, inspecting all the reported congested areas and interacting with the airport staff.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Scindia said steps were being taken to ensure ease of travel for air passengers.

There have been complaints on social media by air passengers experiencing overcrowding at the key terminus.

"We have increased the number of entry gates from 14 to 16. There was a meeting with officials inside the airport where we decided that a signboard should be placed at every entry gate displaying the waiting time," Scindia told ANI.

"This will help people line up at gates where there is minimum waiting time," he added. (ANI)