Civil aviation ministry directs airlines to deploy more staff at airports to sort out rush-hour congestion

New Delhi: To sort out the massive congestion at the key airports of New Delhi and Mumbai being reported on a regular basis, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Tuesday directed all airlines to deploy adequate manpower at check-in counters and increase personnel especially during the early morning rush hours.

“It has come to the notice of the Ministry of Civil Aviation that the airline check-in counters at certain airports are found unmanned or inadequately manned during early morning hours, leading to congestion at the airports and thereby causing inconvenience to passengers,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Scheduled airlines are therefore advised to deploy sufficient manpower at all check-in/baggage drop counters well in advance to ensure decongestion and smooth flow of passengers at airports,” the statement read.

Airlines are advised to deploy sufficient manpower at check-in counters to ensure smooth flow of passengers at airports. pic.twitter.com/RVNCB8r3Ds

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) December 13, 2022

Key airports like Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at Mumbai have been witnessing chaotic scenes at check-in and baggage drop counters, leading to irate passengers and missed flights.

The MoCA has also urged scheduled airlines to place real time data on their social media feeds regarding waiting time at respective airports' entry gates.

The ministry’s order comes against the backdrop of increasing passenger complaints of long waiting hours and huge queues at the crucial and busy Delhi airport where the authorities have started taking several measures to ease the congestion.

Domestic air traffic is on the rise in the country after two years of lower traffic induced by the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions that followed on travel. Domestic airlines carried more than 4.18 lakh people on December 12, as per official data available with the ministry.

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