You must have heard jokes about typical Indians who reach 4 hours before the actual flight time for fear of missing it. However, it turns out that this actually is a wise move to make given how long airports in India, and especially Mumbai, take to clear immigration. Many frustrated passengers have been posting a slew of angry tweets and posts about the tardiness of the Mumbai Airport in clearing immigration, however, to no avail.
Mumbai Airport Takes Hours To Clear Immigration
Passengers usually end up spending four to five hours just to clear immigration. Sometimes, the duration ends up being longer than the duration of the flight. Countless passengers have taken to social media time and again and tagged the airport authorities complaining about the struggles they have faced while attempting to clear immigration.
However, all these complaints have been like water on ducks and no improvements have been made. To most of the tweets complaining about their struggles, the airport authorities have a standard response. It states that the team is working tirelessly round the clock and since the organisation is centralised, the deployment of personnel is not under their control.
An official from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which regulates civil aviation in the country, also said that they were not in charge of security clearances. This was the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). This means that there is still no satisfactory explanation or even response from the officials in charge.
The Airport Issues Advisory Ahead Of PM Modi’s Visit
The authorities of Mumbai Airport, yesterday, issued an advisory stating that since there was a VVIP movement scheduled at the airport on the 10th of February, it is advised to all those who will be travelling through the airport, to take caution.
Passengers were advised to keep up to date with their airlines and to check if there were any delays. Furthermore, they were also advised to leave for their flights earlier than usual as they might face delays ahead of the PM’s visit to Mumbai.
Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to inaugurate two new Vande Bharat trains from Mumbai and is, therefore, visiting the city. Travellers are advised to check if their usual routes will be affected by this.
Also Read: Sonu Sood Resuscitates An Unconscious Passenger At Mumbai Airport, Gives CPR!
Have you faced any hassles while travelling through Mumbai Airports? Tell us all about them in the comments below!
Cover Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons