Top MoCA officials conduct surprise inspections at airports amid flight disruptions

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 10 (ANI): In the midst of numerous flight cancellations that caused chaos for passengers, senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) conducted surprise and thorough inspections of some airports with heavy air traffic on Tuesday. 

Madhu Sudan Shankar, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, visited the Mumbai airport while assuring people that “things are in control.”

“Things are in control. We discussed with all the stakeholders, especially the airport operators, ATC control managers. Major affected sectors of the flight delays domestically from Mumbai are Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Goa and Lucknow. A lot of improvements also took place,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, he said that 780 bags are at the airport and are set to be returned to passengers, with 90 of them being dispatched by tomorrow. 

“780 pieces of baggage are available at the airport, and 90% of them will be dispatched to the people by tomorrow,” he added.

Additionally, airports are giving intimations to passengers 6 hours prior in case of cancellations so they don’t have to come to the airport. 

Meanwhile in Kolkata, MoCA Director Tanvi Sundriyal visited Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport to review the situation arising from recent IndiGo operational issues and to ensure that passenger services remain smooth and uninterrupted.

According to the Airports Authority of India, Sundriyal undertook a comprehensive inspection of passenger touchpoints and interacted directly with affected travellers to understand their concerns firsthand.

Her visit covered key areas, including IndiGo’s Helpdesk; Airline Ticket Booking Counters; Check-in Counters; Security Hold Area (SHA); Departure Gates & Queue Management Zones. 

“She spoke with passengers waiting at various points and assured them of MoCA’s continuous efforts to stabilise operations and improve overall travel experience,” the official statement read. 

A review meeting was subsequently held with senior officials of AAI Kolkata Airport, CISF, and airline representatives, where detailed discussions were conducted regarding ongoing actions and further steps required to streamline flight operations, enhance manpower deployment, and strengthen passenger facilitation measures.

Sundriyal “appreciated the proactive measures already undertaken by AAI, CISF, and airlines to assist passengers, including increased staff deployment, special facilitation counters, real-time passenger updates, and strengthened coordination with all stakeholders.”

She reiterated MoCA’s commitment to ensuring that passenger convenience and safety remain top priorities and emphasised that the Ministry is closely monitoring the situation and extending full support for early normalisation of services.

AAI Kolkata Airport assures all passengers that every possible effort is being taken, in coordination with MoCA and airlines, to restore normal operations at the earliest and provide efficient assistance across all touchpoints.

Earlier, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said that IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and top management officials of the airline were summoned once again on Tuesday amid an ongoing enquiry on the inconvenience faced by passengers due to the airline's "internal mismanagement of crew rosters, flight schedules and inadequate communication".

The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered the airline to curtail its overall operations by 10 per cent, up from an earlier order of 5 per cent, citing the necessity to "stabilise the airline's operations". The airline is ordered to continue covering its usual destinations. (ANI)