The Chennai airport has received all the ten aerobridges with the arrival of last three at the airport. The aerobridges connect the airplane to the terminal sparing passengers a ride by bus.
The aerobridges – 33ft long and 7 ft wide – were imported from Indonesia in two batches; the first seven arrived in July. While the seven delivered in July were directly shipped to the Chennai port, the three that reached yesterday came from Indonesia to Chennai via Kolkata. Airport officials said that the second set was sent to Kolkata first as it contained aerobridges meant for the airport there. From Kolkata, the three were transported to Chennai by bus.
Seven aerobridges are meant for the international terminal and three for the domestic terminal.
Although it has been three months since the first batch reached Chennai, none of them have been installed yet. Airport officials said they were waiting for all of them to come before initiating work.
Airport Director H.S. Suresh said that the installation would be complete by the end of November.
After the installation, they also have to be calibrated. “As part of the calibration, the Visual Docking Guidance System (VDGS) which guides the pilot and co-pilot to park the airplane has been imported. This equipment helps in the exact placement of the aerobridges. But for the VDGS to direct the pilot, all the aircrafts that land in Chennai should be placed in the bays and be calibrated. This process is laborious and may take more than three or four months,” said an official.
