Delhi Airport to shut Terminal 2 amid fall in passenger count due to Covid-19

The Delhi International Delhi International Airport's (DIAL) Terminal 2 will temporarily remain shut starting 17 May due to a decline in passenger count amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country. According to the media, Terminal 2 of Delhi airport will close temporarily due to a fall in passenger traffic as the number of flights has reduced significantly due to the second wave of Covid-19. Flight operations will continue only to and from T3 of the Delhi airport. DIAL officials informed the media that GoAir and IndiGo airlines will shift their operations to T3. According to reports, the current daily traffic at Delhi airport has plunged to around 30,000 passengers. The current amount of domestic-cum-international flight traffic is down due to travel restrictions imposed by several nations amid Covid-19, and the load can be handled by T3 alone. Currently, the Delhi airport is handling around 325 flights per day, they mentioned. Before the pandemic, it used to handle around 1,500 flights per day. The Delhi airport's decision has come at a time when the second wave of the pandemic has badly hit India and its aviation sector. According to data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation during the last few weeks, the number of domestic air passengers per day has come from over 2.2 lakh to around 75,000 right now. Similarly, international air traffic has also been affected by the second wave of the pandemic. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data updated on Tuesday, new Covid-19 cases in India fell to 3.29 lakh after 14 days taking the total tally of coronavirus infections to 2,29,92,517. A total of 3,29,942 infections were reported in a duration of 24 hours, while the death toll climbed to 2,49,992 with 3,876 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. Image Source