Airlines ignore norms, Delhi airport turns cattle-class with no food and water

On Monday, both the airlines and the airport operator were found violating guidelines of the DGCA with passengers complaining that there was no information or food provided by the airlines.

The guidelines issued by the aviation regulator did little to soothe harassed passengers stranded for hours at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).

On Monday, both the airlines and the airport operator were found violating guidelines of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with passengers complaining that there was no information or food provided by the airlines.

The ongoing construction work at the domestic terminal of the airport made it worse for the stranded passengers. Lack of seating arrangements forced them to sit on the floor.

"They call it a world-class airport but it looked like a railway station of a village. Passengers were sitting on the stairs, urging airlines to provide food or at least give some information about their flights, but they got nothing. The airlines did not follow basic courtesy and even failed to provide water to stranded passengers," said a traveller, requesting anonymity.

Passengers, who had cleared security check, suffered the most as boarding gates were closed and there was no seating arrangement. The airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said it had increased the number of seats, keeping in mind the fog season.

"There has always been a seating arrangement of approximately 900 chairs in T1-D. This number has not been reduced. In fact, with the onset of fog, the number of chairs has been increased to over 1,300 in November," said a DIAL spokesperson.

"As far as passenger space is concerned, most of the renovation work has been completed and only a few areas are barricaded. These are shops where finishing work is going on and we plan to open all the enclosures shortly. After this, only a few shops will remain with limited barricades that will not result in any reduction in passenger area," the spokesperson added.