Things have suddenly got a lot worse at Delhi Airport for passengers just when they were to improve exponentially. Following the canopy collapse at T1 that has led to the unfortunate death of a person, operations at the terminal have been suspended indefinitely. Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) says all IndiGo arrivals and departures from T1 are being shifted to T2 and T3. And SpiceJet flights of T1 are being moved to T3.
Suspension of operations at T1 comes at a time when the expanded terminal was supposed to open after a long wait. Following Friday’s mishap now when that happens remains to be seen.
Passengers now stare at chaos in the coming last weekend of summer holiday and peak travel as Delhi & NCR schools reopen July 1 onwards.
India’s largest airline, IndiGo, said the same has led to its flights being impacted. “This has led to flight cancellations at Delhi as passengers are not able to enter the terminal. Passengers already inside the terminal will be able to board their planned flights, but those with flights later in the day will be offered alternatives. This unplanned situation has also led to operations across the network being impacted. Customers are advised to keep a track of and confirm their flight status before leaving for the airport,” IndiGo said in a statement.
Airlines will clearly scramble to shift operations. While cash-strapped SpiceJet operates a fraction of its schedule, India’s biggest airline IndiGo is looking at a Herculean task of distributing T1 flights between T2 & T3.
Given the likely disruption, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has advised airlines “to accommodate passengers on alternate flights or provide full refunds under the regulations” as a large number of flights have been cancelled following suspension of operations at Delhi Airport’s terminal 1. The aviation ministry says “flights to and from Terminal 1 have been closed till further notice” due to the canopy collapse.
Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu inspected T1 and reviewed the situation with officials. “We are taking this incident seriously… I want to clarify that the building inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi is on the other side and the building that collapsed here is an old building which was opened in 2009,” Naidu said. The minister announced compensation for the deceased’s family and also to those injured in the collapse. He announced compensation for the family of the deceased and to those injured in Friday’s mishap. Naidu also visited hospital to meet the injured.