Hundreds of flights were delayed at Delhi airport on Friday evening amid inclement weather conditions and maintenance work. Several flights were diverted while others were cancelled as dust storms and gusty winds affected services. The traffic congestion also spilled well into Saturday, with the airport authorities indicating a gradual improvement in the afternoon. Visuals shared online showed chaotic scenes within the crowded airport — with many highlighting a lack of communication and poor management by airline staff.
“Extremely saddened to witness the state at Delhi airport. Full chaos, stampede like situation, flights delayed by hours and hours, staff is clueless about what’s happening, no help to aged people, zero help to the passengers to give them a direction. What’s happening!” read one post on X.
The user also shared videos recounting her experience and noted that passengers had spent over an hour waiting inside a bus on the airport tarmac with “no water or food provided in the last 7 hours”.
Many on social media also took a swipe at Air India over the absence of updates on flight statuses and boarding gates. Several commuters claimed that the airline was “not able to handle” the influx of waiting passengers. Others claimed that there were “no air India staff to help the travellers and no response on the flight details” for more than five hours.
Tracking data available with Flightradar24.com indicated that more than 350 flights had already been delayed by Saturday afternoon with an average of 40 minutes for departures.
The situation has been worsened by the closure of a runway at Delhi Airport for maintenance work earlier this week. Only three runways now remain operational and arrivals can only take place on one runway when easterly winds blow.
“Flight operations at Delhi Airport are improving; however, a few flights are still impacted due to last night’s weather conditions. Our on-ground teams and all stakeholders are working together to minimize any inconvenience to passengers. Please check the flight status on our website and the respective airline websites for the latest updates,” an update on the Delhi Airport handle on X urged at 2:00 pm.
Commuter woes are however likely to continue for Delhi in the near future with Terminal 2 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport slated to close for maintenance next week. Airlines have already begun issuing advisories about the shift in operations. According to the airport authorities, all flights currently taking off from T2 will be shifted to Terminal 1 from midnight on April 15.