With the Delhi airport facing congestion including long queues and waiting time, airline carrier IndiGo has now asked its passengers to reach the airport at least 3.5 hours before their flight takes off.
The air carrier tweeted, “The Delhi airports are experiencing high footfalls and the check-in and boarding time is expected to be longer than usual. Passengers are requested to reach the airport at least 3.5 hours prior to domestic departures, and to carry only one piece of hand baggage weighing seven kgs for a smooth security check”.
“Please ensure that you complete your web check-in, for added convenience. Please use gate numbers 5 and 6 for entry at Delhi Airport, Terminal 3, as these are nearest to IndiGo check-in counters”, the airline tweeted.
IndiGo’s advisory to the passengers comes a day after union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia visited the Delhi airport amid congestion at the terminals. He inspected the arrangements made to address the congestions and directed the officials to take necessary actions.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport is the country’s largest airport and handles around 2 lakh passengers and 1,200 flights daily.
The authorities have put in place an action plan which includes reducing flights during morning peak hours and efforts to move some flights from Terminal 3. A command centre has been put in place to monitor crowding at the gates on a real-time basis, officials told news agency.
Crowd managers and usherers will guide travellers. Further, airlines will be notified about the crowd numbers so that check-in points can be made congestion-free, they added.
At T3 domestic, additional ATRS (Automatic Tray Retrieval System) machines for baggage check will be deployed to help reduce the congestion, the officials said.