Passengers miss flights due to overcrowding at Mumbai airport’s terminal 2

Many passengers missed their flights due to overcrowding at terminal 2 (T2) of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Friday. There has been an increased footfall at the terminal as the Covid cases have begun decreasing. The airport management said the number of passengers at the airport increased by over 269% in August compared to May.

An airport official said it has become difficult to manage the passenger load from 6 am to 11 am daily. “This only gets worse over weekends and today’s situation is just one of the examples,” said the official.

Spandan Sharma, a Mumbai resident who was to depart for Hyderabad at 7.20 am said, “I checked in at 6 am for my departure but missed my flight as I took over 50 minutes to clear the security. The airline refused to take me on board as I reached the gate 10 minutes before the departure.” Sharma, who had a connecting flight, said he had to undergo the same process again to take another flight for urgent work.

“I was not alone. Another group of people also missed the same flight. There were passengers for other flights too, who missed them due to poor management and then lack of coordination between the airlines and the airport.”

A CSMIA spokesperson said, “With the onset of the festive season, there has been a surge in passenger traffic and a sudden spike witnessed at CSMIA this morning. Similar experiences have also been witnessed in other city airports of the country. Further owing to recent intelligence reports received by stakeholders and threat at another airport in the state, security measures have been further enhanced at CSMIA. The security and safety of our passengers are of utmost priority and our endeavour is to continue to not compromise on these critical aspects.”

“CSMIA airport has deployed additional staff for a quicker turnaround at all the security checkpoints for a smoother passenger experience. Additionally, CSMIA is following all the COVID protocols laid down by the government to ensure a smoother transition. CSMIA regrets the inconvenience caused to any passengers and is offering them all the support required. In addition, in keeping with the growing increase of passenger traffic and to ensure a seamless service experience, CSMIA has planned to open Terminal 1 operations from 20th October, 2021,” the spokesperson added.