Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday made a visit to the Delhi airport after commuters complained about crowding and congestion, reported India Today.

The minister spoke to airport management officials at Terminal 3 of the airport.

For the past few days, passengers have been sharing their ordeal on social media about crowding and congestion. Many commuters posted pictures of long queues at security checkpoints on social media – most of them complaining about crowd mismanagement at Terminal 3.

After his visit, Scindia said there was congestion at airports because the aviation sector was recovering from the issues that cropped up due to coronavirus restrictions, reported ANI.

To combat the chaos, the minister said it has been decided to increase the number of entry gates from 14 to 16, according to ANI. He said that it has also been decided that a board would be placed at the entry gates to display the waiting time.

“This will help people reach the gate where there is minimum waiting time,” he added.

Changes have also been made at security processing lines. Scindia said that the number of these lines would be increased to 16 from 13. He said that the officials would try to increase it further to 20.

The Delhi airport authorities had said that it has deployed officials on the ground to assist the passengers and minimise any inconvenience, reported NDTV.

“Please be assured that passenger experience is paramount for us, and we always strive to enhance our flyers experience,” it had told a passenger complaining on social media. “Also, we have duly noted the remarks and have shared it with the concerned agency. Further, you may also share your direct feedback with CISF [Central Industrial Security Force] headquarters.”

As complaints had poured in, the Delhi airport and the Ministry of Civil Aviation formulated a four-point plan last week to decongest the air transport facility.

The plan includes enhancing X-ray screening systems, demolishing reserve lounge and installing and an Automatic Tray Retrieval System machine, converting two entry points for passenger use and having airlines reduce peak hour departures.

The Delhi airport is the country’s largest and has three terminals. All international flights as well as some domestic services operate from terminal 3.

On an average, the Delhi airport handles about 1.90 lakh passengers and about 1,200 flights daily.