New Delhi: With most of the world in self-quarantine in light of the coronavirus pandemic, enquiries on the functioning of flight operations on social media have “sky-rocketed” for all airports globally. According to social media analytics tool Konnect Insights, in the second half of March, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport recorded the highest amount of online traffic among all global airports, with passengers reaching out to them for clarity on their queries.
It also saw the highest use of “proactive communication” on its social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
After PM Modi announced a 21-day countrywide lockdown to begin on 25 March, domestic and international flight operations were suspended, with air traffic witnessing a significant dip between 15 March to 31 March. During the time of the lockdown, passengers were only left to use social media as a reliable avenue for their queries.
During the period of 15 March to 31 March 2020, Delhi airport’s social media handles saw 99 posts in total, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram combined. This is the maximum number by any global airport. The Delhi airport is managed by the GMR Group.
Singapore’s Changi Airport was second in line to witness high levels of engagement after Delhi airport.
GMR’s Hyderabad airport is the only Indian airport besides Delhi to be among the top five airports in terms of overall social media engagement. While Hyderabad airport’s overall social media engagement is fourth highest, its engagement level was third on Facebook and fourth on Twitter.
Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport engaged in 80 proactive posts, while Los Angeles International Airport and London’s Heathrow Airport followed with 74 and 68 posts respectively.
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Most passengers relied on Delhi airport’s social media handle for checking flight status, availability of transport, status of lockdown, travel advisories issued by the government etc. Moreover, the airport also developed a dedicated landing page on its website. This website provided all the essential travel related information.
Delhi International Airport Limited’s CEO, Videh Kumar Jaipuriar said, “While the whole country was in a state of lockdown, our social media 24×7 command centre remained fully functional just like any other essential service at the airport. The cutting-edge cloud based technology deployed by us ensured that the team could operate remotely from their home and adhere to these 21 days lockdown. We still continue to respond almost real-time to the passengers’ queries and engage with them proactively through advisories and updates. It has also helped us in gathering insight of the situation on ground through online conversations. The team’s contribution is truly on the lines of #WorkFromHub culture promoted during the Covid-19 crisis.”
The report has been updated to reflect the figures of Hyderabad airport, and correctly reflect that Delhi and Hyderabad airports are managed by GMR Group.
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