Teething troubles crop up at new domestic terminal

There were complaints of dirty restrooms and leakages from AC ducts at the departure level

Barely a week into its opening, Chennai airport’s new domestic terminal already has a host of issues to deal with.

The flight information display system for instance, lacks some vital information such as counter numbers for airlines. The passenger information desk at the terminal is not manned, and some of the elevators at the terminal are not working due to electricity problems, an airport official said.

This apart, passengers complained that the restrooms were not very clean.

Manya Ranganathan, who flew to Hyderabad a week ago and returned to Chennai on Thursday, said some of the women’s restrooms did not have latches and were dirty. “It is upsetting to see that the restrooms are poorly maintained even in the new terminal,” she said.

Water leakages from air-conditioning ducts at the departure level, are another problem, airport sources said.

“A couple of times, we have seen water leaking from these ducts. We have informed the concerned authorities but so far, nothing has been done. Also, some of the staff toilets in the basement often get clogged up. In the security hold area, there are just two restrooms each for men and women, and these are inadequate, as the passenger load is huge,” said the official.

Airport director H.S. Suresh said, “These are minor problems and will soon be sorted out. The leakages occur because the west side of the glass terminal is exposed to a lot of heat radiation. We are planning to put up a sun film on it, which will take care of the problem. Also, as the staff members manning the washrooms are new, it will take them a little while to deal with all the issues.”