Delhi airport witnesses chaos, passengers complain about long waiting hours

The number of air passengers at Indian airports has already crossed the mark of four lakh passengers per day, including weekdays

The Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi again witnessed chaos on Wednesday morning with some passengers complaining about three-hour-long queues for immigration and security checks.

"It's an absolute mess at the Delhi International Airport. Yet again. Three-hour-long queues for immigration and security check. People are fainting, fighting. Most of the counters are not operational. Is this the new normal," said an air passenger Tanushree Pandey on Twitter on Wednesday.

Reacting to this, Delhi Airport responded, "We are not happy reading about your experience."

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Other passengers also reacted to the ongoing chaos. "It is a daily affair and I am sure the 'staff' can see. The lines for immigration stretch beyond the entrance point. And people barge in and rush at the last minute...we are going to miss our flight and forge ahead," said Harish Tyagi on Twitter.

Aviation traffic has recorded steady growth in the last couple of months and many airports, including the Delhi airport, have started witnessing longer queues of air passengers.

The number of air passengers at airports has already crossed the mark of four lakh passengers per day even during the weekdays.

As per the latest data, nearly 1.25 crore passengers were carried by domestic airlines in January 2023 as against 64 lakh during the same period last year. The passenger load factor or the occupancy of the airlines remained on the higher side in the range of 80 to 90 per cent.

In December 2022 the Delhi airport, particularly T3, reported long queues of air passengers. Taking note of the inconvenience faced by the passengers at busy airports in the country, the authorities, including the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other stakeholders discussed the requirements and the capacities deployed to process passengers smoothly.