Chennai: Authorities at Chennai International Airport on Tuesday dismissed allegations that passengers travelling on international flights were inconvenienced due to the alleged closure of several access gates, describing the claims as "false and unfounded."
Airport officials asserted that passengers were not inconvenienced and had uninterrupted access to the terminal.
Earlier, reports had claimed that hundreds of passengers bound for major international destinations, including London, Dubai, Singapore, Myanmar and Doha, were left stranded for hours at the airport.
Responding to the allegations, an airport spokesperson said Chennai airport handled 17 international departures carrying 2,831 passengers between 5 am and 11 am on Tuesday.
"This traffic is normal as per the approved slot allocation and handling capacity of the T2 terminal. The T2 terminal at Chennai airport has a peak-hour capacity of 1,600 departing passengers. Reports of extraordinary delays and congestion at the entry gates are incorrect and misleading. A detailed analysis of passenger waiting time at various checkpoints will be carried out using the Passenger Flow Management System (PFMS) available at the T2 terminal," the spokesperson said.
According to earlier reports, although the international terminal has 12 entry points, including 10 double-sided access gates, passengers faced difficulties as gates 5, 8, 9 and 10 allegedly remained closed.
Passengers were reportedly forced to enter through a limited number of gates, leading to long queues that stretched up to the parking area.
Many travellers claimed they had to wait for more than an hour just to enter the terminal. Airport rules allow passengers to enter the terminal up to three hours before their scheduled departure.
Due to the alleged bottlenecks at the entry gates, passengers reportedly had to rush through mandatory procedures such as check-in, customs clearance and immigration under considerable stress.
The situation reportedly became more tense when boarding announcements were made about an hour before departure while many passengers were still waiting in queues.
Travellers holding e-Visas also reportedly faced additional verification delays, increasing concerns about missing their flights.
Passengers also claimed that such recurring delays and administrative bottlenecks are uncommon at major airports such as Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. As a result, some international travellers from the region are increasingly opting to connect through Mumbai for long-haul flights to destinations in the US and the UK.
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 hours to ensure smoother passenger movement.