The flight operations remained unaffected across the country on Thursday but litter piled up in many airports as the indefinite strike by airport employees against closure of Bangalore and Hyderabad airports entered the second day.
After talking tough, the government reached out to the agitating employees assuring them that the old airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore would be used for general aviation and they have "nothing to worry about their future".
"The (existing) airports are not being closed down. They will be used for general aviation (apart from defence purposes and national emergencies)," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said.
"Keeping in mind the interests of all sections, we will try to find a way out of the legal problems in the future, speak to the operators (of the greenfield airports), he said.
Used coffee and tea cups, empty water bottles and waste paper could be seen littered at the Delhi airport and passengers complained of dirty toilets.
The strike has had no impact on flight schedules, Delhi airport officials said. Flight operations remained unaffected in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai . Airport officials said flights left on schedule for various destinations, including Delhi and Mumbai.
However, waste material remained uncleared at the international arrival terminal and domestic arrival and departure terminals with the maintenance workers participating in the agitation.
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