New Delhi, Sept 27: The next time you're catching a flight from Indira Gandhi International, you may not be tempted to flee the moment you enter the airport Thanks to the civil aviation ministry, which seems to be going full blast on revamping airports.
On Friday, the ministry decided to de-congest the entire departure area of IGI airport in Delhi by bringing down the cemented blocks in the driveway.
An extra entry gate is also being created to facilitate free flow of passengers into the airport complex. ''Besides, we are doing away with the practise of restricting passenger entry for specific flights through specific gates. We will now allow all passengers to enter the terminal building through any of the four gates,'' airport director PS Nair told The Times of India. Efforts are also on to de-clog the terminal building by creating more space for passenger movement and installing eight new X-Ray machines to speed up security clearances.
"Passengers were facing a lot of hassles with the three agencies — Indian Airlines, Air-India and British Airways — who were handling the entire baggage X-Ray process. Here again, specific machines were fixed for passengers travelling on specific airlines. At times, a traveller would realise this only when his turn came for baggage X-Ray after a 20-minute wait. So, we have now decided to throw open all the X-Ray machines to all passengers, regardless of the flight they take,'' Nair said. The entire baggage screening process would now be monitored by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials, who are also in charge of the entire airport security. ''These are part of our ongoing efforts to improve passenger handling at the airports and making their travel experience a pleasure, right from the time they drive into the airport area. These steps will be implemented within a fortnight,'' added Nair.