GMR Airports reinstating faith in flying

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GMR Airports reinstating faith in flying

29 July 2021

Aristotle had rightly said human beings are "social species" that relies on cooperation to survive and thrive. Moving around, meeting and interacting with fellow beings is an integral part of our existence. This trait not only helps us physically but also improves our mental and emotional quotients.

COVID pandemic has brought the entire world and mankind to an unexpected halt, restricting us within the four walls. We want to break free but getting a safe and secure environment to travel around is a prerequisite to ensure triumph in this war against COVID.

A great way to make this comfort available to the passengers is providing a safe haven to reconnect and recharge before flying out. Besides, enhancing passenger's travel experience means more than shopping and dining options at the airport. Once the travellers complete their security check-in, they often look for a place to cosy down and spend some time in comfort at the airport before boarding their flight. GMR Airports is committed to provide their patrons a safe and secure travel environment even in these tiring times.

To ensure safe and healthy environment in the terminals for the passengers since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, GMR led Delhi and Hyderabad International Airports have proactively taken several measures. It includes sanitization of terminals, deep and frequent cleaning of high touch areas, placement of auto dispensing hand sanitizers, disinfectant mats, sneeze shields, Luminometers and UV light towers.

To ensure social distancing is maintained inside the terminals, GMR's two leading airports in Delhi and Hyderabad have put up floor marking at various places and have also installed AI-based passenger tracking system, which sends alerts to terminal staff if it detects any breach of social distancing norms at the entry gates, check-in, security check and security hold areas. In line with the Government of India's Digital India vision, they have also come up with a first of its kind contact less food ordering and payment solution at the airports by partnering with HOI, a cognitive and intuitive travel app that helps the travelers navigate the airport seamlessly. Passengers can avail this facility by simply downloading the app on their Android or iOS device, sign-up and add their upcoming flight's travel details.

In view of the pandemic situation, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has ensured that fresh air is injected inside the terminal every 10 minutes after passing it through HEPA filters and UV-C lighting, which cleans air from any kind of pollutants.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) has been a pioneer in exploring new technology-driven ways to transform the airport services into a safe and secured contact-less travel experience for passengers. It is the only airport in the country that already has an advantage of paperless end-to-end e-boarding facility for all domestic travelers. This robust contact-less boarding is a safe mode of airport travel for passengers as it fully covers all the key passenger processes end-to-end at the airport viz. starting from entry to terminal and including check-in, security check, boarding gate and finally the boarding bridge check before entering the aircraft thereby eliminating the need to manual stamping of boarding cards etc.

Hyderabad Airport has redefined its customer experience by successfully converting all the elevators in the airport from traditional push-button controls to a safer touch-less Infrared technology based alternative heightening passenger safety. The sensor can detect interaction from a distance of 0.1-10 cm from the button surface to enable users to make their selection with absolutely zero physical contact.

All these efforts of these two GMR Airports were appreciated and endorsed by the travelers. Delhi Airport witnessed gradual growth in passenger numbers with over three times rise in domestic passenger numbers. From around 18,000 per day in mid of May 2021 to over 62,000 per day at the end of June 2021, Delhi Airport registered a steady rise. Similarly, the number of international travelers here grew from around 4,500 per day in mid of May to nearly 7,500 per day in June end.

At the same time Hyderabad Airport too witnessed a gradual increase in its passenger footfall. From around 10,000 passengers on the first day of June, the number of passengers in a single day touched around 22,000 at the end of June 2021. Passenger volume flowing through the airport doubled in a month. The airport witnessed 4 lakh domestic passengers and around 35,000 international travelers during the month of June.

The major contributors to these rising passenger footfall are those who have been Visiting Family and Friends, followed by Vacationers and Business travelers.

As the pandemic subsides and restrictions across various destinations in the country ease, along with vaccine distribution making progress, a gradual rebound in air travel has been witnessed. Adopting the 'new normal' and exercising innovative solutions at the two major airports run by GMR in Delhi and Hyderabad has led the flyers gain confidence to making travel plans once again.