Proactive measures initiated after Delhi airport canopy collapse incident, says Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu

After the partial collapse of a canopy at Delhi Airport’s Terminal 1 due to heavy rains, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu detailed measures to assist passengers and ensure safety. The incident led to one death and multiple injuries. The meeting resulted in the establishment of a 24x7 war room monitored by MoCA to oversee passenger assistance. The war room is tasked with ensuring full refunds or alternative travel arrangements for affected passengers within seven days. Helpline numbers were provided for IndiGo and SpiceJet passengers at T2 and T3 terminals, along with contact details for immediate assistance.

All refund ought to be processed within a stipulated time of seven days. Contact details including phone numbers will be shared with passengers for immediate assistance.

The War Room Helpline numbers for IndiGo are:

7428748308 (T2 Terminal)

7428748310 (T3 Terminal)

For SpiceJet they are:
0124-4983410/ 0124-7101600 (T3 Terminal)

9711209864 (Mr Rohit)

The Minister assured to take necessary proactive measures to ensure such incidents won't occur in the future.

He also expressed his condolences on the loss of life in the canopy collapse incident at Delhi Airport Terminal 1.

Expressing his condolences, Ram Mohan Naidu said, "The incident that happened at the Delhi airport is very tragic and I offer my condolences to the one individual who lost his life. Some people were injured also in the incident, they have been taken to the hospital and their treatment is underway."

He further said that the situation has been taken under control.

"We have taken control of the situation and as soon as the incident was reported, all the emergency response teams including teams of NDRF and CISF immediately went to the spot and engaged in the relief operations to prevent any further damage."

Emergency Response and Passenger Support
Naidu stated, "We have taken control of the situation, and as soon as the incident was reported, all the emergency response teams, including NDRF and CISF, immediately went to the spot and engaged in the relief operations to prevent any further damage." He emphasized that affected passengers would receive refunds or alternate flights within seven days, facilitated by a newly established war room.

Flight Operations and Safety Inspections
All flights from Terminal 1 have been shifted to Terminals 2 and 3. Naidu confirmed, "For those people whose flights have been canceled, they are being given either a refund or an alternate flight. The Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to pass a circular to provide refunds to the people within seven days." Additionally, a team from IIT Delhi is conducting structural assessments, and broader inspections at all airports are planned within 2-5 days.

Citing the proactive measures taken by the Civil Aviation Ministry, Naidu stated, "For now, Terminal-1 is completely closed and evacuated. All the flight movements have been shifted to Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. For those people whose flights have been canceled, they are being given either a refund or an alternate flight. The Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to pass a circular to provide refunds to the people within seven days."

He further stated that a war room has been constituted in this regard and an officer from the Ministry has been placed in the war room to ensure the facilitation.

"To ensure this happens, we have set up war rooms at Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. The Ministry has released a statement regarding this which has all the numbers. We are taking care of it and have placed one of the officers in the war rooms," he said.

The Ministry has also issued a circular to airlines, citing not to increase the fares.

Maintaining Fare Stability
To prevent fare hikes, Naidu noted, "We have issued another circular to airlines on not increasing the fare of the tickets and maintaining the prices." The Ministry is actively working to maintain airfare stability to avoid passenger inconvenience during this time.

The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) formed a technical committee to investigate the incident's cause, attributing it initially to continuous heavy rainfall. Immediate rescue operations were launched, prioritizing the evacuation of individuals from Terminal 1. DIAL is collaborating with agencies, including DGCA and NDRF, to restore operations safely. Compensation has been offered to the deceased's family and those injured.

MoCA issued advisories to airlines to maintain fare stability amidst the incident, aiming to prevent inconvenience to passengers. Additionally, AAI was directed to conduct comprehensive structural audits at all airports within 2-5 days, with reports to be submitted promptly to MoCA. The findings will inform the development of long-term safety policies and enhanced measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

IIT Delhi's structural engineers were promptly engaged to assess the situation at Delhi T1, with further evaluations planned based on initial findings to ensure comprehensive safety assessments.

(With inputs from ANI)