The circular from the Ministry of Civil Aviation has ordered that there would be no special queues at the Delhi Airport, on an experimental basis. (Agence- France-Presse)
National carrier Air India is writing a letter of protest to the Civil Aviation Ministry over new airport guidelines that it has issued.
In what it calls an attempt to "streamline the screening of passengers" at the Delhi airport, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has ordered that there will be no separate queues for business or executive class passengers for security checks.
A circular issued by the bureau also says that passengers in queue whose flights are about depart shall be screened out of turn. And that there must be a separate channel for crew, senior citizens and passengers with disabilities.
The circular says the new guidelines will be reviewed in a month.
Officials at Air India, which is deeply in the red, say the new guidelines will hit them hard as business and executive class passenger, who pay more, will be up in arms.
The Delhi airport serves about 25 million domestic and international passengers a year at its two terminals.
With over 700 flights taking off from Delhi in a day, security check terminals see long queues at most times