Airports to face structural survey: MoS Civil Aviation

A day after the roof collapse at the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International ( IGI) airports Terminal-1, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry has passed  a strict directive stating that airports across the country will undergo a detailed structural inspection. One person was killed and seven injured in the fatal roof collapse incident on Friday morning.  

“DGCA has been instructed to carry out a high level inquiry into this unfortunate incident. All other airports will undergo a detailed structural inspection,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said in a X post. 

The aviation experts have also urged the government to ensure quality growth in the civil aviation sector of the country by ensuring high standards of safety and world class service quality for the passengers. 

Aviation expert Dhaiyasheel Vandekar said apart from the airports in metro cities, aerodromes in  Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities continue to wait for improved airport infrastructure. 

“Delhi airport handled as many as 7.22 crore passengers last year with an annual growth of over 22 per cent footfall. The increasing number of flyers at even airports in metropolitan cities is a matter of concern as airports are crumbling to this pressure,” added the aviation expert Vandekar. 

Notably, the Airport Council International's  ratings for most of the terminal infrastructure of airports in India raises many questions. Most airports, especially those based in smaller cities have seen ranking low for terminal infrastructure.   The Airport Service Quality (ASQ) index seeks a facelift of airports, especially underlines the need for decongestion in waiting areas, entry and exit points of airports, said Vandekar.