The Civil Aviation Ministry on Friday set up a 24x7 War Room to deal with the roof collapse incident at Delhi airport's Terminal 1. This war room will ensure the processing of full refund of cancelled flights to passengers within seven days, official said.
The ministry has also directed the Airports Authority of India to issue a circular to all minor and major airports to conduct an extensive inspection of their structural strength.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu held a high-level review meeting with top officials and took several decisions regarding the tackling of the situation.
Following the meeting, two War Room helpline numbers for Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 were also issued by the Aviation ministry.
For Indigo airline, the numbers are:
T2 Terminal: 7428748308
T3 Terminal: 7428748310
For Spicejet, the numbers were:
T3 Terminal: 0124-4983410/0124-7101600 and 9711209864 (Mr Rohit)
The statement issued by the ministry asked authorities to place their emphasis on making passengers' comfort a top priority and implement necessary measures to handle the added burden on T2 and T3 terminals, in view of the temporary closure of Terminal T1.
Earlier in the day, Kinjarapu had visited the site of the collapse, which took place amid heavy rainfall, killing one person and injuring several others.
The Civil Aviation Minister also visited the Safdarjung Hospital to meet with those injured in the canopy collapse at Delhi airport's T1.
Amid accusations on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the structure, Kinjarapu defended the PM and said, "I want to clarify that the building inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi is on the other side and the building that collapsed here is an old building and was opened in 2009."
GOVT ASKS AIRLINES TO ENSURE NO ABNORMAL SURGE IN AIRFARES
The Civil Aviation Ministry also asked airlines to ensure that there is no abnormal surge in airfares for flights to and from Delhi, amid temporary suspension of operations at Delhi airport's Terminal 1 on Friday following the roof collapse.
Domestic flight operations of IndiGo and SpiceJet have been shut at Terminal 1 and shifted to T2 and T3 temporarily.
In a series of posts on X, the ministry said the airlines have been advised that cancellations and rescheduling of flights due to the incident may be done without penal charges.
"In view of the unfortunate incident at Terminal T1D IGIA, Delhi, all airlines are advised to monitor any abnormal surge in airfares to and from Delhi and take necessary action regarding the same," it said.
IndiGo cancelled 62 flight departures and 7 arrivals while SpiceJet cancelled 8 departures and 4 flight arrivals, news agency PTI reported citing sources.
DIAL SET UP PANEL TO PROBE INCIDENT
The Delhi airport operatior DIAL -- Delhi International Airport Ltd -- also set up technical committee to probe the roof collapse incident at Terminal 1, saying that the primary cause of the incident seemed to be continued heavy downpour.
"While the cause for the collapse is being assessed, the primary cause seems to be the continued heavy rainfall over the past few hours," DIAL said in a statement.
DIAL is working with all relevant agencies, including Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Delhi Police and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), to assess the situation and restore operations.
(With PTI inputs)
