Travellers at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport here can soon look forward to Wi-Fi facility and an SMS facility to know the status of flights.
The passenger-oriented facilities were the two priority items before the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and they would be launched soon, S. Dharmaraj, the newly appointed Director of the airport, told The Hindu here on Thursday.
The Wi-Fi facility would be made available both at the newly built international terminal and the domestic terminal, said Mr. Dharmaraj.
Internet connectivity would benefit the passengers who could stay connected with their homes and offices till they boarded the flight. Mr. Dharmaraj said the tourists would also benefit as the airport was among the two in the State that offered T-VoA and e-visa facility. The service provider would be identified and other issues would be sorted out soon.
The AAI would also launch a five-digit SMS facility to know the status of flights, Mr. Dharmaraj said.
Another priority area identified was better bus connectivity to the airport with the support of the State transport utility. “Enhancing passenger facilities will be thrust area before me in the days ahead,” Mr. Dharmaraj said.
He said he would take into confidence the AAI employees and all other stakeholders before launching the projects and the tasks assigned to him.
Mr. Dharmaraj, who belongs to Communication Navigation Surveillance (CNS) wing of the AAI, was Deputy Airport Director, Kolkata airport, before being posted here. In the grade of General Manager, Mr. Dharmaraj was involved in the Gagan project during his deputation to the ISRO and had worked as DGM (Planning) in Mumbai.
He is a native of Virudanagar in Tamil Nadu.
He succeeds V.N. Chandran who is retiring on July 31.
