‘No one needs to panic’: Cops amid evacuations at Mumbai airport as flyers fume

Amid the mock drill, several flyers complained of chaos and alleged that Covid-19 protocols were flouted during the process.

Mumbai airport's Terminal 2 was evacuated on Saturday morning for a mock drill, police said, urging people not to panic as several photographs on social media showed passengers being moved out of the area. “A mock drill is being conducted at Mumbai international airport. No one needs to panic," an official of the Mumbai Police was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Mumbai airport authorities said they conducted a “simulated mock drill exercise as per scheduled security protocols.”  (File Photo)

Even as authorities assured that the mock drill was not expected to affect the flight schedule, several passengers did not know about the evacuation process. Later, officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) said they conducted a “simulated mock drill exercise as per scheduled security protocols.” “The mock drill was held this morning at Terminal 2 location in collaboration with (the) CSMIA’s multiple stakeholders," CSMIA said on Twitter. “After all successful assessments and checks, the terminal was continued to be declared safe with the drill completed at 11:48 hours,” it said.

Several passengers, including television show consultant Siddhartha Basu and journalist Cyrus Dhabhar, said the Mumbai airport evacuation led to chaos and alleged that Covid-19 protocols were flouted during the process. “Total chaos at T2 Mumbai airport with sudden announcement of mock drill with total evacuation. Stuck & suffocating in a crowded bus on tarmac for last 30 min, along with about 15 other buses. No AC, no information. Complete Covid trap. Irresponsible & dangerous,” Basu tweeted.

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel’s chief marketing officer, Ranjan Dhar, also asked authorities about the delay. “@CSMIA_Official can you inform if the operations are normal now ? My senior citizen parents are traveling and they are anxious - communication helps,” Dhar tweeted.

Some of the passengers also tweeted that there was a threat to Mumbai airport. CSMIA replied to all complaints and concerns through its Twitter handle about the completion of the Mumbai airport evacuation drill.

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel’s chief marketing officer, Ranjan Dhar, also asked authorities about the delay. “@CSMIA_Official can you inform if the operations are normal now ? My senior citizen parents are traveling and they are anxious - communication helps,” Dhar tweeted.

Some of the passengers also tweeted that there was a threat to Mumbai airport. CSMIA replied to all complaints and concerns through its Twitter handle about the completion of the Mumbai airport evacuation drill.|#+|

Mumbai’s international airport saw an upward trend in passenger traffic as travel restrictions were lifted in various states. Data from the Mumbai airport showed that about 316,118 passengers passed security checkpoints at CSMIA between August 16 and August 22— six times more than that of the last year. Only 55,875 travelled between July 31 and August 6 last year amid Covid-19 related lockdown restrictions.