Senior civil aviation ministry official reviews situation at Kolkata airport amid Indigo flight crisis

Mumbai, Dec 9 (PTI) A senior Civil Aviation Ministry official on Tuesday reviewed the situation at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, following the large-scale disruptions in domestic carrier IndiGo's operations in the last eight days, an official statement said.

The visit was also to ensure that passenger services remain smooth and uninterrupted, it said.

The Rahul Bhatia-controlled domestic carrier has cancelled thousands of flights from metro and other airports in the last eight days, causing hardships to lakhs of passengers and bringing chaos across airports. Kolkata, however, was the least affected among the six metro airports.

Kolkata airports handle a total of 181 IndiGo flights, 91 arrivals and 90 departures per day.

Director in the Civil Aviation Ministry Tanvi Sundriyal undertook a comprehensive inspection of passenger touchpoints, IndiGo ticket booking counters, its help desk, check-in counters and departure gates and queue management zones -- and interacted directly with affected travellers to understand their concerns firsthand, it said.

The official also spoke with passengers waiting at various points and assured them of the Civil Aviation Ministry's continuous efforts to stabilise operations and improve overall travel experience, Kolkata Airport said in the statement.

A review meeting was subsequently held with Airports Authority of India (AAI) senior officials in 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, it stated.

It also said that authorities and agencies at Kolkata Airport have already taken several measures to assist passengers, including increased staff deployment, special facilitation counters, real-time passenger updates, and strengthened coordination with all stakeholders.

She said that the Civil Aviation Ministry was committed 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. PTI IAS MR