New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS): Amid the increased rush of air-passengers, Indigo airline issued a travel advisory asking passengers to reach the Delhi airport at least 3.5 hours prior to domestic departures.

The airline has also asked the passengers to carry only one piece of hand baggage weighing 7 kg for a smooth security check.

The Delhi airports are experiencing high footfalls and the check-in and boarding time are expected to be longer than usual. Passengers are requested to reach the airport at least 3.5 hours prior to domestic departures, and to carry only one piece of hand baggage weighing 7 kg for a smooth security check," Indigo said in a statement on Twitter.

"Please ensure that you complete your web check-in, for added convenience," it said.

The airline also guided the air-passengers to use gate numbers 5 and 6 for entry at Delhi Airport, Terminal 3, as these are nearest to the IndiGo check-in counters.

Amid the rising complaints of chaos and crowd mismanagement at the Delhi airport, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday made a surprise visit to the Delhi airport. The Minister along with senior officials took note of the various aspects and directed the officials and the airport operator to take immediate action for better crowd management.

Meanwhile, complaints about long queues at Delhi continued to pour in.

"This morning's Delhi airport saga! The security lines at Delhi airport were last seen in front of ration shops in the seventies, or East Bengal Mohun Bagan match ticket counters," said an air-passenger Joy Bhattacharjya on Tuesday morning.

Delhi airport is one of the busiest airports in the country and handles over 1,100 daily flights. Among the terminals, T3 is the busiest.

Keeping in mind the massive crowd during peak hours, the operators have also been asked to shift flights to other terminals from T 3 terminal.