In order to accommodate the passengers stuck in aircraft for more than three hours, the Delhi airport is establishing special enclosures at its terminals.
Relaxed Security Protocols
Reportedly, this delay is either caused by the fog, other weather conditions, or technical issues as operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) stated on Monday.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) significantly eased the regulations regarding deboarding of such passengers at the terminals, a few months back.
Such passengers, if deboarded, were to be taken to the arrival area and undergo a lengthy security process before being brought to the boarding gate, as per the older regulations.
This procedure almost took 2.5 hours, so the airlines refrained from deboarding their passengers even if they were stuck in the plane for hours.
The GMR Group-led DIAL noted, “To alleviate passenger discomfort, the government has relaxed security protocols, allowing passengers of flights delayed by over three hours or canceled due to fog/weather or technical issues to disembark and return to the terminal.”
Establishing Special Enclosures For Passengers
While talking about the situation, the operator stated that it is establishing special enclosures at all three terminals for processing of these passengers to allow them back inside the terminal.
Adding, “Bringing such passengers directly to the reverse entry point significantly reduces the time taken in the deboarding and boarding from approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to just a few minutes.”
They noted, “These enclosures will be located at the bus boarding gates and certain aerobridges in Terminal 3, the transfer area in Terminal 2, and the bus boarding gates in Terminal 1. The facilities will serve both domestic and international passengers.”
These enclosures are ranging from 250 to 450 square meters and will be able to hold between 55 and 120 passengers at a time.
Basically, they are meant to facilitate security screening, allowing passengers to smoothly re-enter the terminal’s security hold area (SHA).
Further, the operator said, “DIAL is also working to provide essential amenities, like toilets and vending machines within the enclosures, wherever feasible. The enclosures would only be utilised as a security processing area after which the passengers would enter the SHA which would give the passengers access to all the facilities available there.”
Please note here that the airline staff escorting passengers from stranded flights would only be permitted to enter the enclosures, for security reasons.
The operator said, “To maintain safety and security, CISF personnel will be stationed in the enclosures to screen passengers returning from delayed or stranded flights before they are allowed to join other screened passengers in the SHA. Additionally, personnel from the Private Security Agency (PSA) will verify the documents of passengers affected by the fog/weather or technical issues.”
