As the COVID-19 pandemic draws to a relieving closure, the global aviation industry is rejoicing with the surge in passenger numbers giving a boost to the slumped travel and tourism industry. However, the return of passenger traffic has also led to chaos at major Indian airports like long queues right from terminal entry, check-in, security, immigration, and customs (for international arrivals).
With the opening of international borders opened for travel, post-pandemic many airports in the US and UK faced the same situation due to a lack of management and workforce shortage. Looks like the Indian airports are going through the same.
Angry passengers have turned to social media, posting images of long wait times for check-ins, security, etc blaming the airport management.
Anticipating winter rush and long queues, airlines have advised domestic passengers departing from Delhi to report at least three hours prior to check-in to pass through the heavy congestion at airport security. The Delhi airport management has even asked some airlines operating from the T3 terminal to move their peak-hour flights to T1 and T2 and reschedule some departures.
As an additional measure, Delhi airport has deployed 26 additional staff to aid passengers in the entry forecourt and security area. A senior security official at Delhi airport said: “We are working with CISF to have full manning through flexi-shift from 5 am to avoid queues. We are also in discussions with airlines to reduce peak-hour departures from T3. This is the holiday season, due to which there is a rush at airports.”
The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said, “With the revival of air traffic, there is a rise in passenger traffic. We have augmented manpower with the inclusion of ‘passenger service executives’ complemented with infrastructural facilities to meet passenger expectations and consistently deliver exemplary service standards. In the event of a sudden surge, passengers are prioritized as per departure timings.”
Mumbai Airport has also deployed customer service executives at the curbside for proactive passenger assistance, managing queues at the entry gates, and at pre-security checks for removing restricted articles to reduce rejection rates at the automated tray retrieval system.
All in all, the airport management at Delhi and Mumbai appears to be confident in dealing with the huge passenger load during the upcoming Christmas and New year holidays.