Citing the reason of inadequate facilities, the Airport Operating Committee (AOC) has turned down the airport authorities’ request for a trial run of the new domestic terminal of the Chennai airport.
“What is the point of conducting a trial run for a terminal which lacks aerobridges, restaurants, lounges, etc?” asked an airport official said.
Sources said that even the tenders for setting up restaurants have not been called for as yet. Moreover, the Baggage Reconciliation System (BRS), that automatically segregates baggage, is yet to be installed. A trial run without this system in place would mean that the passengers will have to manually find their baggage, which is a herculean task, officials said.
The three aerobridges that were to be delivered by June have still not arrived from Indonesia.
Earlier in May, when a trial run was conducted, officials indicated that the terminal would become operational in June.
Now, officials say they are unsure when the terminal will be inaugurated.
The new domestic terminal boasts of a capacity to handle 3,300 passengers per hour, with seven gates, eight counters for e-ticketing, 52 check-in counters and X-ray machines, among other things.
A mock run, without passengers, is likely to be carried out sometime next week.
