NEW DELHI - Territorial Army (TA) personnel have been deployed at the Delhi airport to ensure smooth flight operations in the wake of the nationwide strike by public sector oil company employees, an airport official said Thursday.

The strike, started Wednesday, has hit refuelling services in many other airports, including Mumbai, leading to brief flight delays.

‘The oil companies are taking help from the members of the TA. The flights are operating smoothly,’ said Arun Arora, a spokesperson for Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which operates the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here.

The TA is a voluntary, part-time citizen’s force.

Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp provide aviation fuel at the IGI airport.

Airlines officials said though flights are facing brief delays in the country’s busiest airport in Mumbai, the situation was ‘under control’.

‘The situation is under control. The flights are getting delayed for few minutes. There is not much impact on flight movement due to the strike,’ said Jitender Bhargava, a spokesperson of India’ flagship carrier Air India.

The Mumbai airport handles an average of over 300 flights daily at its domestic terminal.

More than a dozen flights were delayed by 30-45 minutes at the Mumbai airport.

‘Some airlines are looking for help for supply of fuel by private firms,’ said an airlines official in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, Jet Airways chief executive Wolfgang Prock-Schuaer said the airline had made arrangements of its own so that the effect was minimal.

Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines said it had geared up to deal with the situation.