Airlines slam dial for T3 blackout

International carriers affected by Sunday morning’s four-hour power outage at terminal 3 (T3) of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) have asked the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to ensure the incident is not repeated.

International carriers affected by Sunday morning’s four-hour power outage at terminal 3 (T3) of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) have asked the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to ensure the incident is not repeated.

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T3 plunged into darkness after the power supply went down and the diesel back-up generators also failed within minutes, bringing all operations — check-in facility, immigration service, baggage delivery, travalators, escalators and aerobridges — at the airport to a complete halt.

“Representatives of international airlines have written to DIAL about the blackout. There have been technical problems at the terminal in the past too,” said a senior manager of an international airline who did not want to be named.

The airlines operations committee, which represents most airlines operating from IGIA, also slammed DIAL for the outage.

In a letter to DIAL, the committee questioned as to who would bear the cost of damages because of the blackout.

“Many passengers missed their connecting flights due to the power outage. Baggages of passengers reached late and many are demanding compensation. Who will take the responsibility?” the committee said.

Domestic and international airlines also expressed surprise that DIAL has not even called a meeting to discuss the issue.

“They have not prepared any action plan so far. If such a problem happens again, I am sure their reaction will be the same,” another airline official said.

Denying the allegations, a DIAL official said they had reached out to all its stakeholders including the airlines operations committee “within hours of the issue being resolved”.

Meanwhile, the Union aviation minister has ordered a probe into the power failure.