Thursday, July 13 2006 13:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Several flights out of Delhi were today (July 13, 2006) delayed by 30 minutes to an hour following stringent security measures put in place at the airport here after the Mumbai blasts.

Airport officials, however, asked the passengers to understand that security is not negotiable and urged them to cooperate.

"The secondary check being conducted on passengers at the ladder point and the baggage check were leading to flight delays," they said.

Most of the delays were happening at Terminal 1-B that caters to private airlines, airport sources said, adding cramming of space at the terminal due to repair work being carried out there was primarily responsible for the delay.

Flights of private airlines Spice Jet, Air Deccan, Air Sahara and Jet Airways were affected, delayed by 30 minutes to an hour, the sources said.

Repair work is being carried out at the terminal as part of the modernisation of Delhi airport.

Indian Airlines and Kingfisher flights from Terminal 1-A were on an average delayed by 15 minutes to 30 minutes.

Asked about a Jet Airways flight being delayed by over three hours, the sources said the delay was due to a technical snag and was not a result of the security arrangements.