After the new domestic terminal at Chennai airport, now the international facility has run into trouble with passengers.
There are several teething problems, said airport officials. “Recently, passengers complained of water droplets falling on their heads while waiting at the check-in counter. It may be due to a problem with the condensation and we don’t know when it will be set right,” said an airport official.
Another problem area is the X-ray baggage scanner. Two of the scanners are not functioning at present and therefore a roller has to be used to transfer bags to another scanner.
Additional manpower was put in place to manually move the baggage but the number of workers is not sufficient, said another official at the airport.
“Had it been a mechanised roller, we wouldn’t need workers to push the bags through. Also, staff members do not turn up to work on time and we are forced to keep passengers waiting. For the past three days, there have been delays of about 45 minutes due to this issue,” the official said.
Many passengers also have problems with the signage at the new terminal.
The sign boards could have been installed at least 50-100 metres before the entrance to the terminal so it would be easier for passengers to notice, said the official.
“At present, the signs are located at the point where the vehicles enter and are easy to miss. Several passengers have gone all the way to the old terminal only to take a circuitous route back through the ramp to get to the new terminal,” he said.
In other countries, there is signage right from the roads that lead to the airport. “They are better planned and offer several facilities and we could learn from them. But first, the condensation problem that leads to water leakage, at the domestic and international terminals, must be addressed” said an official of Airports Authority of India.
