The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), which has twice been ranked as the best in the world in its category and has also been appreciated by many passengers, seems to have found a new set of admirers — pigeons. Of late, the expansive Terminal 3 here has been playing host to these winged admirers, leaving the airport operator — DIAL — concerned.
Spread over 5.4 million square feet with a distance of 1.2 km between its piers, Terminal 3 of the IGIA can easily handle 35 million passengers a year. Of course, this leaves a lot of space for birds to perch, roost and generally have a field day.
From seating areas to eateries to washrooms to water fountains and lamps, the terminal seems to have been invaded by a flock of pigeons. This has, in fact, led many passengers to worry about the hygiene at the world-class terminal.
Hygiene concerns
“I was surprised to see so many pigeons at the airport. One of them just popped out from below my seat while I was waiting for my flight,” said Ranveer Singh, a passenger.
Many others, however, were not amused by the avian presence.
“The pigeons roam around restaurants and eateries at the terminal. You can also spot them perched on water fountains, which is very unhygienic. The airport management should take steps to control their movement,” said a passenger on condition of anonymity.
The private airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL), meanwhile, is trying to control the problem but has not been entirely successful.
Rs. 500 for a pigeon?
Interestingly, some exasperated officials recently offered a reward of Rs. 500 per pigeon to housekeeping staff that caught the birds and release them outside, sources at the airport said. But, according to DIAL no such reward system has been institutionalised.
The airport operator has, however, deployed personnel armed with nets to catch the trespassers. “We are doing the best we can, but it’s a challenge to make the terminal pigeon-free. The same problem holds true for Terminal 1, too, but the number of pigeons there is much less,” said an airport official who didn’t wish to be named. “Delhi Metro stations have spikes placed on possible perching spots, but this can injure the birds and we wanted to avoid that,” the official added.
“We have adopted scientific pigeon-proofing initiatives at the airport. First, we identify the areas where pigeons are often seen. We then use organic solutions here to keep the pigeons from returning,” a DIAL spokesperson said.
“Besides, we have also given butterfly catching nets to our housekeeping staff and identified holes and passages through which pigeons can enter. These have been plugged. These methods have helped us significantly reduce the number of pigeons at the terminals,” the spokesperson claimed.
