Flight Ops at Delhi Airport's Terminal 2 Suspended from Midnight
May 17—The flight operations at Delhi airport's Terminal 2 (T2) will be stopped from the midnight of May 17 (Monday), according to Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL). The decision has been taken due to falling in passengers traffic amid the Covid-19 pandemic, an official said.
DIAL said the move will help airlines and the airport in better management of their staff during the pandemic.
All the operations will be shifted to Terminal 3 (T3), said DIAL, adding that the two airlines — GoAir and IndiGo — which operate from T2 have been asked to shift to T3.
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the aviation sector badly. There has been a significant drop in passenger traffic especially after the emergence of the second wave of the pandemic last month.
During the last few weeks, the number of domestic air passengers per day have come from more than 2.2 lakh to around 75,000, according to the civil aviation ministry's data. The airport used to handle around 1,500 flights per day, but the number has fallen to 325 flights a day.
Similarly, international air traffic has also been affected by the second wave of the pandemic.
Last month, DIAL said it is facing financial challenges and may seek financial help from the central government.
"The earning of the airports depends on the operations of the flights there. So if the airline companies are facing financial turbulence the airport cannot be immune to that. We were seeing a recovery post lockdown but with the second wave of Covid, we are stuck again," DIAL's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Videh Kumar Jaipuriar had told news agency ANI.
Last year, DIAL had announced salary reduction of its employees following the shut down of the airport and the salaries had been restored after nine months.
Over 1,500 employees are working directly under DIAL at the Delhi airport.
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