IGI battles rush,delays,as flights carrying Haj pilgrims arrive late

This has led to a lot of inconvenience for the airport authorities,as the connecting domestic flights out of Delhi are being delayed in turn.

“Since a lot of domestic destinations do not have night-landing facility,we have to check and transfer passengers on the tarmac itself to avoid further delays. This is creating manpower-related problems,” a senior airport official said.

Since most domestic destinations do not have direct flights to and from the Saudi kingdom,Hajis arriving at the IGI Airport need to take connecting flights back to their respective cities. Other cities connected by Air India include Varanasi,Kanpur,Lucknow and Srinagar.

At least five flights arrive in Delhi each day from Jeddah. While Air India coordinates the Haj flight movement at IGI Airport,Saudi Arabia Airlines and Air India jointly handle flight operations. At least 27,000 pilgrims have flown out of the IGI airport for Haj this year.

Sources said another major cause for domestic delays is the untimely repair work being carried out at the Srinagar airport. While Srinagar has direct flights to and from Jeddah,Haj Committee officials said the Civil Aviation Ministry’s nod to the airport authorities to undertake repair work on its runway before the Hajis arrived this year has not been not timed well.

“The runway is presently under repair and its usable portion is not big enough for the landing of the bigger-sized aircraft that arrive directly from Jeddah. The flights to Srinagar are hence being diverted to Delhi,further delaying domestic flight movement. The ministry could have waited just another month,” an official said.

The cancellation of direct flights to Srinagar has forced the authorities to keep at least three smaller aircraft ready when the Srinagar flight arrives in Delhi. The officials then need to quickly transfer passengers onto the smaller aircraft on the tarmac itself. The Srinagar flight on Thursday,which was scheduled to arrive at the Delhi Airport at 2 am,finally arrived at 2.15 pm,officials said. While officials said there have been issues with the Saudi government,no one is sure why the flights are arriving so late.

The Chief Coordinator of the Delhi State Haj Committee and a member of the Haj Committee of India,Maulana Mohammed Moazzam Ahmed,told Newsline: “There can be a lot of reasons at play. Over 30 lakh pilgrims are moving through Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz International Airport and the airport is facing a huge rush. The delays might be congestion related.”

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