 "Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu inspects the Delhi airport where a portion of the roof of Terminal-1 collapsed amid heavy rainfall, in New Delhi on Friday | Photo: PTI")
Delhi-NCR woke up to the news of massive chaos on roads and skies on Friday morning as monsoon hit North India with a vengeance. In a shocking incident, one person was killed and six others injured when a section of the roof at Terminal 1 of Delhi International Airport collapsed after heavy rainfall.
The video of cars getting crushed and a cab driver getting killed at the T1 departure went viral as Delhiites were about to start their day. The highest rainfall after the 1936 record of 235.5 mm flooded the homes of the rich and famous in Lutyens’ Delhi along with those living in modest localities, prompting a slugfest among political leaders cutting across party lines.
The focus, however, remained on the busiest airport of the country through the day as all flights were suspended from T1, leading to a large number of cancellations and delays. The Ministry of Civil Aviation closed the terminal for flight operations and redirected some 200 daily flights to the Delhi airport’s two other terminals – T2 and T3 – causing mayhem for passengers. The ministry is investigating the incident and has ordered the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to conduct a comprehensive structural inspection at airports across the country within the next five days.
The Delhi airport is one of the busiest in the world and handles about 1,270 daily flights. It handled around 74 million passengers in 2023-24, recording 12.8 per cent year-on-year growth, according to Airports Authority of India data. Structural engineers from IIT Delhi have been asked to "immediately assess" the incident at T1 and further examination would be done based on their initial findings, according to the MoCA.
T1 handles about 200 flights daily, all operated by IndiGo and SpiceJet, according to aviation industry officials. An airline official said: “IndiGo accounted for roughly 80 per cent of T1 flights, with SpiceJet operating the rest.”
After inspecting the collapsed structure, Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the deceased and Rs 3 lakh each for the injured.
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“This structure was built in 2009. We have asked DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited) to do a verification from their side. The ministry has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to look into the safety aspect. They will supervise this inspection and give us a report,” the minister said.
The Delhi airport, operated by the GMR group-led DIAL, had all flights scheduled to and from T1 cancelled until 2 pm. Flights scheduled to depart after 2 pm were shifted to T2 and T3, the minister said. This led to numerous delays and cancellations at the other two terminals. According to flightaware.com, about 513 flights were delayed and 59 cancelled at the Delhi airport on Friday.
Naidu said: “I can assure you that we have taken this incident very seriously. Across the country, we will have to go through all airports that have similar structures. We will do a thorough check of all the airports...”
A similar incident took place in Jabalpur on Thursday when a part of a fabric canopy on the premises of the city’s airport collapsed amid heavy rains and crushed a car parked below. However, no one was injured in that incident.
Opposition parties hit out at the government, saying “corruption” and “criminal negligence” were responsible for the “shoddy infrastructure” created in the past 10 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 15 airport projects – including the revamped and expanded T1 of the Delhi airport – on March 10 this year.
Naidu, however, clarified that the roof collapse was part of an old building that was opened in 2009 and not the one the PM inaugurated in March. “We will do the necessary inspection now... This government will not tolerate any untoward attitude. If there are any lacunae, this government will surely take action,” the minister said.
“The entire T1 has been evacuated. There is no one inside. We will inspect the terminal till tomorrow. The flight operations from T2 and T3 will continue,” he said.
A DIAL spokesperson said all SpiceJet flights – arrivals as well as departures – had been shifted from T1 to T3. All IndiGo flights from T1 have been distributed among T2 and T3. “All departures from T1 are temporarily suspended, and check-in counters are closed as a safety measure. We sincerely regret this disruption and apologise for any inconvenience caused,” said the spokesperson.
IndiGo posted on X that it had cancelled all departures from T1 until Saturday midnight. Further, flights due to arrive at T1 will now arrive either at T2 or T3 in Delhi, IndiGo said.
SpiceJet said its departures from T1 had been re-accommodated to T3. “Necessary information has been communicated to all the passengers via SMS/email,” it noted.
A DGCA official told Business Standard that airlines had been advised to accommodate passengers on alternative flights or provide full refunds under regulations.
In a statement, the ministry asked all airlines to monitor any abnormal surge in airfares to and from Delhi and take necessary action regarding the same. “Further, cancellations and rescheduling on flights due to the incident may be done without penal charges,” it added.
GMR Airports Infrastructure is the top shareholder in DIAL with a 64 per cent stake. Its shares fell 2.9 per cent on the BSE on Friday. Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport, which owns a 10 per cent stake in the airport, told Reuters it was in “close contact” with airport authorities.
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