Surat: The Digi Yatra service at Surat International Airport came to a halt on Friday after over 35 staff members operating the system went on mass leave to protest alleged delays in their salaries. The suspension caused inconvenience to nearly 1,000 passengers, who were forced to undergo manual entry checks.

The DG Yatra system at Surat Airport was introduced to facilitate smooth passenger movement, with around 35 employees appointed to operate it. Initially, staff members received salaries on time for the first month or two, but payments were subsequently delayed. During the recent Diwali period, employees were also left unpaid, and the issue continued into the current month. Despite repeated representations to airport authorities by the affected staff, no resolution was provided, prompting them to abstain from reporting to work on Friday.

Due to the absence of staff, the airport administration had no option but to temporarily suspend the Digi Yatra service.

The delay in payments is reportedly linked to issues with the contractor’s GST number, which was cancelled earlier this year. This prevented the airport authority from releasing funds, eventually disrupting salary disbursement for the employees. Observers have questioned why the airport administration has not taken stricter action despite the severity of the situation.

It has also come to light that the AAI had previously cancelled a tender for the same service but overlooked the matter before finalising the contract.

Out of approximately 3,000 daily departing passengers from Surat, around 800–1,000 use the Digi Yatra system. With the system down on Friday, all of them were diverted to manual checks, causing delays and inconvenience. DeshGujarat