New Delhi: A portion of the roof at Delhi airport’s Terminal-1 collapsed on Friday early morning onto several cars, including taxis, amidst heavy rains. This tragic incident resulted in the death of one person and injuries to six others.
Emergency response teams, including Delhi Police, the Fire Service, CISF, and NDRF, swiftly arrived at the scene after the roof caved in. In light of the accident, all departures from Terminal 1 have been temporarily suspended, and check-in counters closed as a precaution. Authorities expressed their regret for the disruption and apologized for any inconvenience caused.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation announced that alternative arrangements are being made for flights affected by the temporary closure of Terminal 1. Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu declared a compensation package of ₹20 lakh for the family of the deceased and ₹3 lakh for each injured person.
Minister Naidu clarified that the collapsed section was constructed in 2008-09 by private contractors under GMR. The departure hall of Terminal 1, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated in March 2024 after expansion works that began in 2019, was unaffected. Terminal 1 has been completely evacuated, and operations are expected to resume after inspections, likely by tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Airport announced on X that all departures and arrivals at T2 and T3 are fully operational. Arrivals at T1 continue, but departing flights from T1 are canceled until 2 p.m. today. IndiGo and SpiceJet flights from T1 have been suspended until further notice. SpiceJet flights have been moved to T3, while IndiGo flights are now operating from both T2 and T3.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticized the Modi government, blaming corruption and negligence for the collapse of what he described as “shoddy infrastructure.” He cited various other instances of infrastructure failures under the NDA government and labeled the March 2024 inauguration of the T1 departure terminal as a pre-election gimmick.
The airport authorities are working diligently to restore normal operations and ensure passenger safety in the aftermath of this unfortunate incident.
