Delhi airport Terminal 1 closure affected over 22,000 passengers: Ministry
What's the story
The abrupt closure of the Terminal-1 (T1) of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport due to a roof collapse on Friday has impacted approximately 22,615 passengers, as per the Civil Aviation Ministry.
The ministry also disclosed that refunds have been issued to nearly 10,000 passengers who had booked flights with IndiGo and SpiceJet.
However, the refund process for an additional 196 passengers is still underway.
Transition
Operations shifted to T-2, T-3
Following the roof collapse, flight operations at T-1 were immediately suspended.
However, no cancellations were reported over the weekend as operations were promptly transferred to Terminal-2 (T2) and Terminal-3 (T3).
Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu inspected the Airport Operations Control Centre and held discussions with officials from his ministry, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), and airline representatives to discuss passenger handling and the current status.
Incident
1 killed in roof collapse at T-1
The roof collapse at T-1, which occurred amid heavy rains and winds on Friday, resulted in one fatality and eight injuries.
DIAL suggested that the primary cause of the collapse appeared to be heavy rainfall.
A technical committee was formed by the DIAL to investigate the incident, and compensation of ₹20 lakh was announced for the family of the deceased individual, with ₹3 lakh each for those injured.
Predictions
Aviation experts raise concerns of flight disruptions
Despite Delhi Airport's confidence in managing passenger traffic load at T-2 and T-3, aviation industry experts have predicted chaos and flight disruptions at the IGI airport until operations fully resume at T-1.
Domestic airlines SpiceJet and IndiGo reported 95 flight cancellations on June 28 after T-1 services were shut down.
A detailed technical study of the now-closed T-1 is expected to be completed in a month.
Future plans
Decision on reopening after technical study
A decision regarding the recommencement of operations at T-1 will be made following a detailed technical study, expected to be completed in a month, according to a senior government official.
All flights from T-1 have been shifted to T-2 and T-3 and are currently operational.
The official also revealed that 72 flights of IndiGo have been shifted to T-2 and T-3, and 17 flights to T-3.