Minister for Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya M Scindia said that a systematic approach has successfully alleviated congestion at various airports. In a media address, he detailed the comprehensive measures implemented to address congestion challenges, particularly during the previous festive season, aiming to ensure a smooth and efficient travel experience for all passengers.
Scindia highlighted that congestion issues at major airports were observed during the festive season and Winter 2022, causing prolonged waiting times for passenger processing at various touchpoints. Taking immediate action, he personally inspected arrangements at Delhi Airport in December 2022 alongside senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and directed the necessary infrastructure enhancements. Concurrently, major airport operators in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai were instructed to identify and address bottlenecks in passenger processing, ensuring increased capacities to meet growing demands and prevent congestion during upcoming festive seasons and peak times.
To improve the infrastructure availability, several measures have been taken. Here is the following:
Demolition of waiting lounges, retail outlets, and office spaces at airports like Delhi and Mumbai to create more space for passenger infrastructure facilities.
Installation of waiting time screens at entry and police checkpoint points to inform passengers about expected wait times.
Opening of additional entry gates/lanes for improved passenger flow.
Implementation of 2D barcode scanners at entry gates for automated entry, with airlines advised to include readable barcodes on tickets.
Deployment of support manpower to assist passengers throughout the airport.
Expansion of waiting areas at both entry and security hold zones.
Installation of self-baggage drop facilities by airport operators based on available space.
Advisory to airlines to ensure sufficient manpower at all check-in/baggage drop counters.
Significant increase in the number of X-ray machines at pre-embarkation security checkpoints.
Utilisation of social media platforms to provide real-time updates for a seamless airport transit experience.
Phased launch of Digi Yatra at airports to enhance the overall travel experience.
Daily monitoring by airport operators, airlines, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation to ensure compliance with mitigation measures.
Scindia highlighted several other initiatives to address airport congestion:
Immigration Counters and CISF Deployment:
Ministry of Home Affairs/Bureau of Immigration approached for 100% manning of immigration counters.
Actively persuading MHA/CISF to increase deployment to meet sanctioned strength at airports through capacity addition.
Airport operators urged to enhance immigration/emigration counters and security machines.Request made to BoI and CISF to increase manpower for the expanded infrastructure.
Digi Yatra Implementation:
Digi Yatra launched at 13 airports, with over 91 lakh passengers availing the facility since its inception.
Expansion planned for 14 more airports in 2024, including Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, and others.
Phased implementation to cover all airports eventually.
Review and Monitoring:
Weekly reviews by the Minister with identified airport operators and BCAS to prevent congestion.
Ongoing monitoring of critical infrastructure development progress at major airports.
Upcoming Infrastructure Projects:
Introduction of a 4th runway, Eastern Cross Taxiway, and soon-to-be-completed state-of-the-art T1 terminal building at Delhi Airport.
Commissioning of a new T2 terminal with domestic and international operations at Bangalore airport.
Expanded terminal building at Hyderabad airport.
Restructuring of the Pre-embarkation security check area in Mumbai airport with the addition of 03 more security lanes.
Soon-to-be-completed new terminal building at Lucknow airport.
Future Developments:
New terminal buildings with enhanced capacity expected to be operational at Guwahati and Patna Airports.
Operationalisation of new Greenfield Airports at Noida (Jewar) and Navi Mumbai to complement Delhi and Mumbai airports’ capacities.
These measures aim to efficiently handle a higher number of passengers, ensuring comfortable and hassle-free travel experiences.