NEW DELHI: Special enclosures have been set up at the Delhi airport to accommodate passengers who have disembarked from flights that have been delayed for over three hours to allow their faster return to the terminal to board their respective flights.
To reduce the discomfort and waiting time for such passengers to board their respective flights again, they will not be required to go through the normal process for security check ins and the process will be done separately to allow them to return to the Security Hold Area (SHA), according to airport operator DIAL.
The government has relaxed the security protocols at airports to allow passengers of flights delayed by over three hours or canceled due to fog, weather or technical issues to disembark and return to the terminal.
Following the eased norms, DIAL on Monday said it has set up the special enclosures at all the three terminals -- T1, T2 and T3 -- for such passengers that will allow them back inside the terminal concerned.
“Ranging from 250 to 450 square meters, these enclosures will be able to hold between 55 and 120 passengers at a time. They are intended to facilitate security screening, allowing passengers to smoothly re-enter the terminal’s Security Hold Area (SHA),” Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a release.
Broadly, SHA is the area after the security checks and before a passenger reaches the boarding gate.
The enclosures will be located at the bus boarding gates and certain aerobridges in T3, the transfer area in T2 and the bus boarding gate in T1. It will be available for both domestic and international passengers.
According to DIAL, the new arrangement will eliminate the need for passengers to undergo standard security checks, where they are taken to arrivals and processed through domestic or international transfer areas before returning to the SHA. Instead, passengers will be brought directly to the reverse entry point, cutting the process from 2.5 hours to just minutes. The enclosures, used solely for security processing, will provide access to SHA facilities.
Only airline staff escorting stranded passengers may enter for security reasons. CISF personnel will screen passengers, while PSA staff will verify documents. DIAL CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar stated the initiative aims to reduce delays for passengers affected by fog or technical issues. IGIA handles 1,400 flights daily.