Air India urges passengers to report 3 hours early

National carrier Air India urged its passengers to reach airports well on time to avoid delays in view of agencies scaling up security measures in view of the recent security alert in the country.

Passengers/baggage may have to undergo more stringent checks at airports. It is advised that to avoid inconvenience, passengers may report three hours before the scheduled departure of flight, Air India said in an advisory to its passengers, issued on Monday.

To avoid any delays to the flight departures owing to these procedures, Air India requests its passengers to report at the counter well in time for check-ins, it said. Air India accords utmost importance to the safety and security of its passengers and equipment, it added.

At present, the domestic passengers are required to reach airport an hour before the scheduled departure of their flights while international passengers are asked to report at the airport at least one-and-a-half hour in advance.

As per the aviation regulator DGCA mandate, check-in counters for domestic passengers get closed 45 minutes before the scheduled departure while for the international flights, counters close 60 minutes prior to departure.

Counters for flights (both Domestic and International) operating from International terminals close 60 minutes before scheduled departure of flight.

Boarding gates in both cases close 25 minutes prior to departure.