Officials from the ministry of civil aviation and the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) inspected the Chennai airport on Thursday. They will now submit a report to the minister of civil aviation, Ajit Singh.
“The minister had asked for a report on the new domestic terminal of the Chennai airport. So, we will look into the operational issues of the terminal and the quality of the services rendered here. We won’t be able to share our observations right now,” said an official who inspected the terminal.
He also visited the new international terminal which is yet to be commissioned, six months after its inauguration. “The in-line baggage scanning machine and lack of manpower for Customs had delayed the process of commissioning. But the terminal may be thrown open for use soon,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the three months since its functioning, the new domestic terminal has run into several problems including collapse of a false ceiling, cracking of glass panels and granite tiles, and unclean toilets. Officials went through complaints of passengers registered over the past three months, said sources.
“They were pretty unhappy and asked the authorities why so many issues had mushroomed in just three months. When he held a meeting with the airlines, the domestic carriers also raised several problems they had been facing with the new domestic terminal,” said an official of Airports Authority of India (AAI).
It is only ideal the airport is professionally managed by a global operator at the earliest so that passengers are benefitted, he said. A key infrastructure development (KID) cell comprising five AAI members was created on June 8 to fasten the process of public-private partnership management of the airport. This cell will function only till the time the task is completed and will be disbanded later.
ADVERTISEMENT