Delhi Airport T1 collapse: In the early hours of Friday, a large portion of the roof at Delhi Airport’s terminal-1 collapsed, causing several flight cancellations. The airport authority says it remains ‘confident’ of smoothly handling the passenger traffic load from terminal-2 and terminal-3. However, the disrupted schedules of leading domestic airlines and anxious flyers tell a different story after T1 operations were suspended due to the accident.
In stark contrast to Delhi Airport’s ‘load management’ promises at its terminals, aviation industry experts predict chaos and flight disruptions for the next few days at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport until operations fully resume at T1. Domestic airlines SpiceJet and IndiGo reported 95 flight cancellations on June 28 by the end of the day after T1 services were shut down.
What happened at Delhi Airport’s T1?
A canopy at the old departure forecourt of Delhi Airpor’s T1 collapsed around 5:00 am on Friday, June 28, after heavy rains and winds inundated several areas of both Delhi and the broader NCR region. The roof collapse crushed several cars lined up at the departure court, resulting in the death of one person and injuring eight others, according to the latest update from the Delhi Airport.
In an official statement, the Delhi IGI Aiport — operated by the GMR Airport Infrastructure Limited-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said, ‘’While the cause for the collapse is being assessed, the primary cause seems to be the continued heavy rainfall over the past few hours.”
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Safdarjung recorded 228.1 mm of rain in the early morning hours on Friday, the highest 24-hour rainfall in Delhi this month after 1936. According to DIAL’s statement, the average rainfall in the area in the last 30 years is 75.2 mm.
#WATCH | “A roof collapsed at Terminal-1 of Delhi airport. 3 fire tenders were rushed to the spot”, says an official from Delhi Fire Services
(Video source – Delhi Fire Services) pic.twitter.com/qdRiSFrctv
— ANI (@ANI) June 28, 2024
Rescue operations were launched immediately, and first responders arrived at the scene. The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) and paramedics evacuated the passengers trapped under the debris of the collapsed roof. The fatal roof collapse triggered sharp responses from several state and central agencies.
The Delhi Police filed a case shortly after the death and injuries were reported at the scene, registering a First Information Report (FIR) under Sections 304 A (death by negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Sources told news agency PTI that the Delhi Police would conduct the probe to ascertain the reasons for the structure’s collapse and “fix the responsibility of the agency and people whose job was to ensure its maintenance”.
Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu conducted a high-level review meeting with key officials on Friday and announced that a thorough inspection of the airport’s structure will be conducted to assess the cause of the collapse, and subsequent safety audits will be ordered.
IndiGo, SpiceJet flights cancelled, rescheduled
As many as 80 IndiGo flight cancellations and around 15 SpiceJet flight cancellations were announced on Friday. The Delhi airport informed that all IndiGo and SpiceJet flights departing from and arriving at T1 will be rescheduled until further notice due to the shutdown of operations at T1.
The airport authority said all flights operating from T1 and T2 are fully operational. “Indigo flights will operate from T2 [Terminal 2] and terminal [T3], and SpiceJet flights from T3,” the Delhi Airport’s statement read.
#6ETravelAdvisory: #DelhiAirport Terminal 1 update : Flights originally scheduled to operate to/from Terminal 1, Delhi after 0000hrs (midnight) have been shifted to Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. (1/3)
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) June 28, 2024
The Delhi airport authorities also requested all flyers scheduled to travel on these flights to contact IndiGo and SpiceJet for ‘’any further updates”. In a series of tweets, IndiGo Airlines said that the airline ‘’sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to those whose travel plans have been disrupted”.
‘’IndiGo flight operations are impacted due to structural damage to T1, Delhi Airport because of adverse weather conditions. This has led to flight cancellations at Delhi as passengers cannot enter the terminal,” said IndiGo Airlines in an official statement.
‘’Passengers already inside the terminal will be able to board their planned flights, but those with flights later in the day will be offered alternatives,” said IndiGo, informing its flyers. An IndiGo Airlines spokesperson told LiveMint that the unplanned situation has impacted operations across the network.
The domestic airline has advised customers to keep track of and confirm their flight status before leaving for the airport. IndiGo passengers can call 0124 6173838 or 0124 4973838 to seek assistance regarding their travel plans.
SpiceJet said all flights to and from Delhi, dated June 29, 2024, will depart/arrive from T3. “Necessary information has been communicated to all the passengers via SMS/Email. The passengers are requested to ensure sufficient travel time and keep a check on their flight status,” said SpiceJet.
Flyers report travel woes amid cancelled, rescheduled flights
Responding to the roof collapse accident, one of the affected passengers, Uday Bhaskar, said that the incident at T1 today was unfortunate and added, “It is a reflection of the status of our infrastructure.’ An investigation should take place,” said Bhaskar. Yash, a second passenger at T1 who was bound for a Bangalore flight at 8:15 AM, said that the airport authority ‘’had no answer” over operations.
‘’Around 700-800 flyers are standing clueless here, and we have no idea whom to ask for further updates as we can’t find any airport official…Airports are supposed to ensure safety and security to passengers, but with this accident, we don’t see any such assurances,” said Yash. He added that the roof collapse did not seem to be caused by the heavy rain, but suspected some ‘’blunder” on the part of the authorities.
#WATCH | Yash, a passenger at Terminal 1 of Delhi airport, says, “I was going to Bangalore, I had a flight at 8:15 am. Here the roof collapsed around 5, 5:15 am… The airport authority has no answer…” pic.twitter.com/kjbWJ5UMhd
— ANI (@ANI) June 28, 2024
Another flyer who was supposed to arrive in Delhi from Srinagar on Friday said that his flight was cancelled ‘’at the last minute”. An IndiGo airline flyer who was to travel on June 29, asked airline authorities for an update as he had already received the boarding pass.
Following his query IndiGo responded, “We would like to inform you that our team is closely monitoring the situation and all flight status updates will be directly communicated on the registered contact details. Meanwhile, you may refer to to keep a track of live flight status.”
Delhi Airport ‘confident’ of handling T2, T3 load
A Delhi Airport spokesperson told LiveMint that the authorities can handle the diverted passenger traffic at T2 and T3. ‘’IndiGo airlines are spread across several routes and can be managed from other terminals. Also, Akasa Air flights operate on limited routes so the load will be manageable,” he said.
Another Delhi Aiport official said that flight cancellations will not occur from June 29 onwards, after the high volume flight cancellations and delays were reported on Friday. The Delhi Airport generally handles around 190-200 arrivals and daily departures.
Taking to the microblogging platform ‘X’, the Delhi Airport has given step-by-step instructions for checking real-time flight status updates to those flyers whose flights have been rescheduled. Here’s how to check real-time status:
1. The Delhi airport authority asked flyers to check live flight status here: https://t.co/Oa2AtWIAbN
2. One can also click here – – to track the status of their flights.
3. Or track Delhi Airport’s social media handle for live updates here
The website shows details of the terminal from where their flight will take off, along with other information such as flight number, destination, estimated date and time, and gate number. The Delhi airport warned that flyers must check weather conditions to avoid road congestion amid heavy rains in the capital.
DIAL also informed that the eight people injured from the roof collapse accident at T1 were provided immediate medical assistance at the Medanta Centre. ‘’The injured have been shifted to ESI Hospital and Indian Spinal Injury Centre (later they were referred to Safdarjung Hospital) for further medical supervision, as required,” said the Delhi Aiport.
DIAL has set up a technical committee to investigate the cause of the incident and will provide a report as soon as the findings are finalised. In addition, DIAL is working with all relevant agencies, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Delhi Police and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to assess the situation and restore operations as soon as possible.
Industry experts predict chaos at T2, T3
Speaking on Delhi Airport’s capacity to manage the sudden load, an aviation expert told LiveMint, ‘’T2 and T3 would struggle to accommodate the passenger traffic since 18 per cent of domestic departures are handled from T1. The possibility of flight cancellations remains high as operations teams scramble to get things in order.”
Delhi’s IGI Airport has a capacity of 40 million passengers annually and is the largest domestic terminal in the country. Recently, Delhi Airport T1 received an upgrade with DigiYatra gates installed at the terminal, according to the GMR Group website.
DIAL is expected to handle an increase in passenger traffic levels to 73-74 million for the financial year 2023-24, compared to 67.3 million in the year 2022-23, according to credit rating agency ICRA Ltd. ICRA also revealed that the busiest airport in India is operating at near full capacity, similar to the Mumbai Airport.
Aviation Ministry to set up war rooms, monitor surcharge
Civil Aviation Minister Naidu has announced a compensation of ₹20 lakh to the family of the deceased and ₹3 lakh each to those who sustained injuries due to the roof collapse at T1. The central government has announced several steps to help flyers affected by the flight disruptions at the Delhi Airport.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation said a 24/7 war room will be established. It will ensure a full refund of cancelled flights or provide alternative travel route tickets as per availability. All refunds will be processed within seven days.
The government also provided contact details in case passengers need immediate assistance. Here are ‘War Room helpline numbers’:
IndiGo Airline | T2 Terminal: 7428748308 | T3 Terminal: 7428748310
SpiceJet | T3 Terminal: 0124-4983410/0124-7101600, 9711209864.
The government said that emphasis will be laid on implementing measures to handle the additional stress on T2 and T3 terminals due to the temporary closure of T1. The centre also advised all airlines to ensure that the current situation does not lead to a steep increase in airfare.
“Airlines to maintain fare stability to avoid passenger inconvenience,” said the aviation ministry in the press release. The Centre also directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to issue a circular to all minor and major airports to inspect structural strength thoroughly. IIT Delhi engineers have also been roped in to assess the roof collapse incident at T1.