Hundreds of passengers travelling to international destinations including London, Dubai, Singapore, Doha and Myanmar allegedly faced hours-long delays at Chennai airport on Tuesday morning after several entry gates to the international terminal remained closed during peak departure hours.
According to airport sources, around 17 international flights were scheduled to depart between 5 am and 11 am. However, despite the international terminal having 12 entry points, including 10 double-sided access gates, key gates numbered 5, 8, 9 and 10 remained locked.
The limited number of open entry gates forced passengers into long queues that stretched up to the parking area. Many travellers reportedly waited for more than an hour just to enter the terminal.
Passengers are allowed to enter the terminal up to three hours before departure. However, because of the entry bottleneck, many were left rushing through check-in, customs, immigration and security checks after finally gaining access to the building.
The situation became more stressful when boarding announcements began while many passengers were still waiting in queues outside or completing mandatory formalities inside the terminal.
Travellers holding e-Visas reportedly experienced additional verification delays, increasing fears of missing their flights.
Regular international travellers said such delays are uncommon at airports in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Some passengers claimed they now prefer connecting through Mumbai for long-haul flights to destinations in the US and the UK to avoid similar disruptions.
Affected passengers and frequent flyers have urged the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to direct the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and terminal authorities to keep all available entry gates open during peak operating hours to improve passenger movement.
(With inputs from PTI)
