Too few chairs, and they’re all taken far too quickly — this is the latest complaint of passengers at Chennai airport.
Frequent fliers said during peak hours, several passengers at the departure level of the new domestic terminal were forced to do without a seat, as all the chairs were invariably taken.
Devika Parashar, 33, a software professional based in Chennai said she was forced to stand for half an hour near the check-in area on her recent trip to Bangalore. “I left home early to avoid traffic and got to the airport before my colleague. Since I wanted to check-in only after my colleague arrived, I had to wait at the check-in area for nearly 30 minutes without a seat as the terminal was quite crowded then. Is it too much to ask for seating inside the terminal?” she asked.
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D. Sudhakar Reddy of Air Passengers’ Association of India said he had received several complaints from passengers on the inadequate seating arrangements at the new domestic terminal. “The quality of the chairs too, could be better, considering the amount of money spent,” he said.
The presence of a standalone X-ray machine has also eaten away at space where chairs could have been provided, said an Airports Authority of India official. “There are more than enough chairs at the security area to cater to passengers even during peak hours. It is seating at the check-in area that passengers complain about,” he said.
Another AAI official however said the number of chairs provided at the check-in area was just sufficient. “There are fewer chairs here to discourage people from hanging about in the area,” he said.
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