Amit Shah orders third-party audit to cut airport passenger delays

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to independently commission third-party studies during the peak travel season to identify and reduce passenger delays across all touch points at major airports.

The direction came during a review meeting with Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on passenger facilities, security arrangements and the immigration system at major airports. The meeting was attended by the Union Home Secretary, Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Director-General of the CISF, Chairman of the Airports Authority of India and other senior officials.

To improve passenger processing, Mr. Shah directed the phased installation of Automatic Tray Retrieval System (ATRS) at airports across the country, to ease the congestion at security checkpoints and reduce manpower requirements.

He also asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation to prescribe norms for the number of aerobridges at airports based on passenger and aircraft traffic. In addition, the baggage drop facility, currently available at 16 major airports, will be expanded to other international airports handling high passenger volumes.

To speed up immigration clearance, Mr. Shah also called for greater adoption of the Centre’s Fast Track Immigration–Trusted Travellers’ Programme (FTI-TTP), directing airlines to send WhatsApp messages to passengers at the time of booking international tickets, encouraging them to register for the programme.