'All agencies in action...' Aviation Minister on mitigating congestion at Delhi International Airport

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said all agencies have swung into action in the last 24-36 hours to mitigate congestion at all major airports. "Congestion at entry points and check-in counters at T3 has eased. Four additional X-ray machines have been added at the Security Hold Area; display boards showing wait time have come up. Deployment of CISF manpower has already kick-started, and will progressively increase in the next few days," he said. Scindia, in a LinkedIn post, said these steps will be emulated at the Bengaluru and Mumbai airports as well.

In recent weeks, air passengers have been complaining about long waiting hours at airports, especially at Terminal 3 (T3) of Delhi airport, and authorities have been taking steps to reduce the congestion.

"In the last 24-36 hours, all agencies have swung into action to mitigate congestion at every checkpoint at all major airports," he said. At Bengaluru airport, two additional X-ray machines were operationalised on Wednesday.

"It is heartening to see domestic passenger traffic surpass pre-COVID levels, clocking a new record each day. The load factors have touched 95 per cent-plus. Indeed, airport operators, airlines, ground handlers, ATCOs, immigration, security ? the entire circuit is fortunate to be operating at such a time, and only wishes to see this trajectory move onwards and upwards," Scindia said.

On Tuesday, domestic airlines carried nearly 4.12 lakh passengers. While emphasising that this is a great time for the country's civil aviation sector, the minister said the boom needs to be accompanied with a capacity increase across the board.

India houses the third largest aviation market, and with that, "we must also strive to be the best service providers", Scindia said. Further, the minister said that a lot is being done today and much more will be done to brace for the future.

"A strong Rs 98,000 crore capex for airports is in the pipeline. Civil aviation is expanding its reach beyond the metros. There is a lot of potential, and the unleashing of animal spirits has only begun.

"Till then, I am certain that the sector shall continue to ride on a steep learning curve, and emerge stronger from these challenges," he added. Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry said that necessary actions taken to reduce congestion at the Delhi airport have resulted in "least wait time" for boarding at check points and entry gates.

On Tuesday, the ministry asked airlines to deploy adequate manpower at all check-in and baggage drop counters well in advance to ensure decongestion and smooth flow of passengers at airports.