Fliers suffer as facilities are few

Calcutta: Over the past year, the count of passengers at Calcutta airport has registered a 30 per cent growth, but the number of security counters to cater to them has not gone up from three. Inadequate manpower remains another problem.
“The low airfares are attracting more and more passengers. All the security counters are overcrowded during the rush hours,” said chairman (east) of Travel Agents Federation of India Anil Punjabi.
“There is a mad rush at the airport, with too many flights taking off around the same time. There is an urgent need for the number of security counters to be increased. I have been flying for more than 30 years but have never seen such chaos,” stated frequent flier Satyajit Burman, a businessman.
Between putting a baggage on the conveyor belt of the X-ray machine for scanning and collecting it on the other side after being frisked by security personnel, the gap could be as long as 10 minutes, according to Burman.
The plan to increase the number of security check counters and CISF personnel is yet to be implemented.
08/03/07 Calcutta Telegraph

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Mar 2007