Centre to conduct thorough check of airports, says Civil Aviation Minister

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Following the canopy collapse at Terminal-1 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Friday, the Centre will conduct a thorough check of all the airports in the country.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, who visited the Terminal-1 site soon after the incident, said, "We will conduct a thorough check on all the airports that come under our purview...we will make the necessary report and see if there is a requirement for an independent body for this."

At least one person died and four others were injured when a canopy at Terminal 1 collapsed on Friday amid heavy rain.

After inspecting the spot, the Minister said, "We have asked the Delhi International Airport Limited to do a verification and inspection from their side. But we are not leaving it up to them. From the Ministry, we have the DGCA, which underlooks the safety aspect, which will be supervising this inspection and will submit its report."

"From the ministry side, I can assure you that this is taken as a serious issue, not just in this airport but all across the country, with similar structures," the Minister said.

While giving details of the incident, the Minister said, "Today morning at 5, a very unfortunate incident happened at IGI Airport Terminal-1, when a section of the canopy outside of the Airport building collapsed due to heavy rain since night. I express my condolences to the life that has been lost in this tragic incident, and along with that, we are taking care of the four people who are injured. As soon as the incident came to our notice, we reacted immediately, we sent the emergency response team, safety team, CISF and NDRF teams for a thorough inspection to ensure no other casualties were there."

The Minister further said, "...we have informed the airlines that passengers should not face any inconvenience...The passengers will get full refunds and other than that if they want to travel from the alternative routes, they will be assisted."