Key Meeting Today As Delhi Airport Chaos Continues

The meeting has been convened by Bhalla in the wake of continuous complaints from passengers about the rush at the entry gates, luggage dropping, and security check areas.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla

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New Delhi: After complaints of huge crowds at major airports in the country, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla will review the issue today with key stakeholders, particularly for Delhi and Mumbai, the officials said, reported news agency PTI. 

The meeting has been convened by Bhalla in the wake of continuous complaints from passengers about the rush at the entry gates, luggage dropping, and security check areas.

Representatives of key stakeholders such as the Civil Aviation Ministry, airport operators, CISF, and Bureau of Immigration are expected to attend the meeting, an official said.

Over the last two weeks, passengers have been making complaints about long queues and crowding at the IGI airport in Delhi and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai prompting authorities to take note and asking airlines and airport operators to ease the traffic.

To ease the situation, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has formed a pool of more than 100 personnel to man additional security counters expected to be handed over to it to ease the congestion at large airports of Delhi and Mumbai, official sources said.

The central paramilitary, designated as the national aviation security force, has informed airport operators, airlines, and the Union civil aviation ministry that while it can bring on board some more security personnel, there can be "no compromise on security protocols and standard operating procedures followed by it for regular frisking of passengers and scanning of cabin baggage apart from fliers required to undergo extensive search due to specific profiling."

The civil aviation ministry had on Tuesday asked airlines to deploy adequate manpower at all check-in and baggage drop counters, besides requesting the scheduled airlines to update their social media feed with real-time numbers on the waiting time at airports' entry gates.

The airline companies also requested the passengers to reach airports early, do a web check-in, and carry only one piece of hand baggage for swift movement.