Delhi Airport canopy collapse: Centre issues advisory, asks airlines to refrain from hiking fare

New Delhi: Post canopy collapse at the old departure forecourt of Delhi Airport's Terminal 1, Centre has issued an advisory asking all airlines to ensure that this situation does not lead to a hike in airfare.

Airlines to maintain fare stability to avoid passenger inconvenience.

Minister for Civil Aviation, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu convened a high-level review meeting with key officials including the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Director General of Civil Aviation, Chairman of the Airports Authority of India, Director General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and Joint Secretaries of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

In the meeting, some key decisions were made to address the ongoing situation and ensure the safety and convenience of passengers.

Highlights:

24/7 War Room Establishment & efficient management of T2 & T3- A 24/7.

War Room will be established under the close monitoring of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. This War Room will ensure the full refund of canceled flights or provide alternative travel route tickets as per availability. All refunds will be processed within a stipulated time of 7 days. Contact details including phone numbers will be provided to passengers for immediate assistance.

War Room helpline numbers:

Indigo airline

T2 Terminal: 7428748308

T3 Terminal: 7428748310

Spicejet

T3 Terminal: 0124-4983410/0124-7101600

9711209864 (Mr Rohit)

Emphasis was placed on making passenger comfort a top priority and implementing measures to handle the additional stress on T2 and T3 terminals due to the temporary closure of T1.

An advisory has been released to all airlines to ensure that this situation does not lead to a steep increase in airfare. Airlines were asked to maintain fare stability to avoid passenger inconvenience.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been directed to issue a circular to all minor and major airports to conduct a thorough inspection of structural strength. These inspections must be completed within the next 2-5 days, and the reports are to be submitted to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Based on the findings the need for increased safety measures and the development of long-term policies to prevent the recurrence of such unfortunate incidents will be formulated.

Structural Engineers from IIT Delhi have been asked to immediately assess the incident at Delhi T1. Further examination will be decided based on their initial findings. Similarly, AAI will have the Jabalpur incident examined.

One died and eight got injured after the collapse, also resulting in damage to vehicles.

As a result of this incident, all departures from Terminal 1 have been temporarily suspended, and check-in counters have been closed as a safety measure. T1 only operates domestic flights by IndiGo and SpiceJet. The airport, which has three terminals, T1, T2, and T3, handles around 1,400 flight movements daily.

A Technical Committee has been formed by DIAL to investigate the cause of the incident and will give the report as soon as possible.