Delhi airport's roof collapses months after ranking as India's best airport; 1 dead, several injured

As temperatures climb beyond life-threatening levels, and then some, Delhi’s citizens have been desperate for a spot of rainfall to ease the blistering situation. However, there’s no such thing as a free lunch — a painful pill that Delhiites recently had to swallow after severe destruction accompanied the answering of their rainy pleas.

The country’s capital witnessed more than 220 mm of downpours in the past 24 hours, beating a 88-year-old record. This became a horrific ordeal that turned the city’s streets into rivers and severely damaged airport infrastructure. According to reports, a portion of the roofing of Terminal 1 of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) collapsed on top of cars and people around 5:30 AM today.

Despite prompt response from the fire department, the tragic incident has led to the unfortunate death of one person so far, with at least 8 injured. All flights from Terminal 1 have been suspended or cancelled until further notice, bringing great inconvenience to commuters hoping to catch a flight out of the region.

Best airport in India?

As usual, politicians have begun to play the blame game over the state of infrastructure in the country. Considering that the 2009-built airport was recently ranked as the tenth busiest airport in the world with 72.3 million passengers in 2023, there is perhaps a point to be made that the high amount of traffic makes it hard to carry out on-site repairs. On the contrary however, it can be argued that the high volume necessitates prompt and regular upkeep to prevent the occurrence of such devastating incidents.

In fact, there is something ironic about the fact that the Delhi airport was voted in as the best airport in India and South Asia only a few months ago. As per Skytrax, which assigns these rankings based on the experience of travellers at over 500 international airports, Delhi ranked at number 36 on the 2024 list.

Only four Indian airports have made it to the top 100 of the Skytrax list, with only two other Indian airports receiving awards. This includes the Hyderabad Airport (rank 61), which was voted in for the best airport staff in India and South Asia.

Bridge collapses and other roof leaks

Bengaluru Airport, another awardee at rank 59 on the list, had recently faced a similar set of problems after heavy rainfall as well. After intense showers lashed Bengaluru in May earlier this year, rainwater leaked through the roof of Terminal 2 of the Kempegowda International Airport. The newly-built Terminal had commenced operations just four months prior.

In fact, 2024 has seen quite a few shares of major infrastructural accidents already. For instance, Bihar witnessed four bridge collapses within ten days this month, one of which was close to opening. In addition, many long cracks were discovered on the newly inaugurated Mumbai Trans Harbour Link — the longest sea bridge in the country — just five months after inauguration.