Delhi Airport Chaos: Aviation Ministry Blames 'Rebalancing Of Staff' For Long Queues At IGIA

Delhi airport officials said that nearly half of the counters were "unmanned," leading to long queues, and there was no delay at the entry to the airport premises.

Image for representation

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has come forward to explain the reason for overcrowding at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. As per a statement on Thursday, the average wait time for exit immigration at the airport is about 20 minutes, despite the fact that there was an overcrowding-like situation in the Delhi airport yesterday. Yet, there are times when it is delayed because of the rebalancing of staff. There were complaints of lengthy lines at the immigration checkpoints at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday, which reportedly irritated the travellers.

Responding to the delay for immigration at the airport, MoCA senior official told ANI, "For a short duration between 4.30 am to 6.30 am yesterday, there was a rebalancing of immigration staff at arrival and departure counters to cater to increase in the number of arriving passengers. It took about an hour to clear immigration and 10 mins to clear security (and not three hours)."

However, a Delhi airport official said that nearly half of the counters were "unmanned," leading to long queues, and there was no delay at the entry to the airport premises.

"Immigration is a sovereign function, and it is the responsibility of the MHA to ensure the smooth functioning of Immigration and security anonymity," he said. Many passengers took to social media on Wednesday to raise their plight of inconvenience they were facing at the airport.

MoCA and other stakeholders are trying their best to reduce queues for a smooth experience at Delhi airport. Notably, in December last year, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia made a surprise visit to Terminal 3 of the IGI airport in Delhi amid complaints of congestion and overcrowding and also held a meeting with concerned stakeholders to overcome the issue. 

(With ANI Inputs)