Flyer gets locked in trial room of T3 store, rescued

NEW DELHI: A passenger at the Delhi airport accidentally got locked inside a trial room at a store in Terminal 3 on February 16, just before boarding a flight to London but was later rescued, an airport official said.

When the store staff could not open the door, the passenger shouted out his flight details and the airport staff rushed to the airline counter at the boarding gate to inform them that one of their passenger was locked in.

The passenger even dialled 100 for help, but before police could reach, the technical staff of the airport broke the lock and rescued the passenger, who managed to catch the flight.

To ensure such incidents are not repeated, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has ordered audit of all stores on the premises.

“On February 16, a passenger got stuck in the trial room at a store at Terminal 3 in the international retail area.The area is located just before the boarding gates so the passenger had completed all the formalities including security and immigration. While trying out a shirt in the trial room, the door knob got stuck due to a mechanical fault and could not be opened,” said an airport source, requesting anonymity.

The passenger was supposed to fly by Virgin Atlantic flight VS-301 at 2pm.

“The incident took place around 1:30pm and not much time was left before the boarding gates closed. The store team called the maintenance team at the airport to break the lock and in the meantime, the airline was also informed to ensure the passenger did not miss his flight,” an airport official added.

A DIAL official said that the store team apologised to the passenger and escorted him till the boarding gate. “The passenger was completely satisfied and even purchased the shirt from the store,” the officer said.

But DIAL has started audit of other stores of the retail area so that such incidents are not repeated.“The problem could not be immediately corrected as the stores inside the terminal are not allowed to keep any tools as per the security norms. Repair work was completed after getting permission,” DIAL officer said.

In a similar incident on February 5, a Dubai-bound passenger had to be rescued from the washroom in the check-in area of Terminal 3 after he was unable to open the door lock.