Delhi Airport Canopy Collapse: A Chronology of Such Airport Mishaps in India

Any mishap or collapse incident at an airport triggers widespread uproar across the country. The collapse of a portion of the canopy at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday shook the nation as it left one person dead and six others injured. Here is a chronology of such incidents relating to collapse of roof, false and mishaps during construction.

Hyderabad : The roof collapse incident at Delhi airport raised questions over the safety of civil aviation in the country. A small portion of the canopy collapsed at the departure terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport in Friday's rains in the national capital of Delhi, killing one person and injuring several others. The Civil Aviation Ministry swung into action to rescue the persons injured in the incident.

Following this incident, experts have called for a fresh look at the safety and also stressed the need for nation-wide checks at the airports in the interests of thousands of passengers availing of the flight services. They also underscore the importance of taking out structural safety audits at all the airports to eliminate any risk for the passengers or staff. Here is a chronology of airport-related mishaps in India:

• June 28, 2024: Delhi: One person died and eight others were injured after a roof collapsed at Delhi Airport's Terminal 1 on Friday, due to heavy rain. The Delhi Airport, which is managed by GMR, said a portion of the canopy at the old departure forecourt of the terminal collapsed around 5 am due to heavy rain.
• May 09, 2024: After heavy showers lashed Bengaluru on Thursday, rainwater leaked through the roof of the newly built Terminal 2 of the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The baggage claim area of T2 was particularly affected.
• March 31, 2024: Guwahati Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport roof partially collapses due to storm, no injuries
• July 22, 2023: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly integrated terminal building of Veer Savarkar International Airport in Andaman and Nicobar islands’ Port Blair, a portion of the ceiling fell off due to strong winds.
• October 06, 2022 : Two labourers died while six others were injured after they allegedly fell from a scaffolding at a construction site in Terminal 1 of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi
• January 24, 2020 : Bhubaneswar: A person died in Bhubaneswar after a roof linking two terminals of the Biju Patnaik International Airport collapsed. Two other workers were injured in the accident.
• March 12, 2018 : A strip of gypsum false ceiling collapsed at the check-in area of the new Chennai domestic airport terminal. Nobody was hurt and there was no disruption of service.
• May 02, 2016: Chennai: The glass ceiling collapsed once again on Monday, about 13 people have been injured in incidents of falling glass ceilings at the airport.
• May 13, 2013: Chennai: False ceiling panels collapse at Chennai domestic terminal. No one was injured in the incident, as there were no passengers or airport employees in the place at that time.