The baggage delivery time at Delhi, Mumbai and four other major airports has improved significantly in the last four months, with more than 90 per cent of the passengers getting their baggage arriving within 30 minutes of an aircraft landing, according to the civil aviation ministry.

The ministry has also advised all domestic and international airlines operating at other airports to improve baggage delivery timings.

In January, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) started an exercise to boost the baggage delivery system of the domestic airlines at the country's six major airports -- Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

The exercise under the aegis of the civil aviation ministry was started after it was noticed that baggage was getting delivered late after the landing of a plane.

As per the global standards prescribed by IATA (International Air Transport Association) and the provision under the OMDA (Operation, Management and Development Agreement) with airports, baggage should be delivered to passengers within 30 minutes of the arrival of the aircraft.

In a release on Tuesday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said that when the exercise was started on January 14, only 62.2 per cent of the passengers were getting their baggage within IATA-prescribed timelines.

After a detailed analysis by the BCAS and domestic airlines, efforts were made to overhaul and upgrade equipment, services and monitor in order to speed up baggage delivery.

"From 62.2 per cent of passengers getting on-time baggage delivery in January, the number increased to more than 90 per cent from March 2024 onwards...the percentages of bags arriving within 30 mins has reached a high of 92.5 per cent in May 2024," the release said.

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