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Chaos, confusion at Delhi airport's swanky T3

Thousands of passengers had a harrowing time at the swanky Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Thursday when Air India shifted its entire domestic operations to the new venue.

Air India shifted its entire domestic operations to Terminal 3 of the IGI Airport but delayed flights, long wait for baggage, missing crew and confusion marred the first day for passengers. Crew members of crucial flights got stuck in the traffic near Mahipalpur on National Highway-8 en-route T3. Since no other crew was available, flights could only be operated after they arrived, the official said.

Chaos, confusion at Delhi airport's swanky T3

Rediff.com spoke to a flier stranded at the airport, who said that flights were delayed for more than six hours at a stretch. He narrated a tale of neglect and mismanagement at the T3 terminal. An impending strike by Air India crew also added to the fliers' anxiety. 

Air India shifted its domestic operations from T1A to T3 from midnight on Wednesday. The first domestic flight to depart from T3 was IC 867 to Goa.

Chaos, confusion at Delhi airport's swanky T3

The first domestic flight to arrive at T3 was IC 601 from Mumbai at 7.55 am. The airlines managed to handle the flight operations smoothly during the initial hours, but as the day progressed, the flights were delayed.

Chaos, confusion at Delhi airport's swanky T3

Nearly 6,300 passengers had booked tickets to fly out of Delhi to various domestic destinations on 45 flights. Passengers complained that they had to wait for about half an hour to deplane after landing as airport staff were facing problems in docking the aerobridge with the aircraft.

Chaos, confusion at Delhi airport's swanky T3

Flyers also complained about the long wait for getting their baggage. There were also reports of problems in computers at the check-in counters due to which long queues were seen.

"These are initial teething troubles and everything will be sorted out soon," an airport official said.