Finally, AC for steel city airport

Jamshedpur: Jamshedpur’s airport is in for a much-needed facelift with Tata Steel, its owners, having decided to spend at least Rs 6 crore to upgrade passenger facilities, including air-conditioning of the terminal building.
The need for a revamp was felt after two private airlines, Kingfisher and MDLR, began services from the steel city.
“There is a need to renovate the airport as private operators have started commercial flights linking the city with other parts of the country,” said Prabhat Sharma, the head of corporate affairs, Tata Steel.
“Renovation was also necessary for passenger comfort. Once work is complete, we hope passengers will have a better travel experience,” he added.
On any given day, Jamshedpur airport sees as many as five flights. While Kingfisher Airlines operates two daily flights (morning and evening) between Jamshedpur and Calcutta, MDLR Airlines operates one morning flight between Jamshedpur and New Delhi via Ranchi (except Sundays).
This apart, there are usually at least two chartered flights of Tata Steel daily. Passengers travelling in and out of Jamshedpur have often complained about the lack of air-conditioning in the terminal building that is woefully small with inadequate passenger amenities. The two baggage X-ray machines are frequently on the blink.
Sharma said the renovation would include new floor tiles and a false ceiling for effective air-conditioning. “The two X-ray machines will be replaced which is important from the security point of view. Check-in facilities will also improve considerably,” he added.
An airport official said though there were no plans to expand the working area of the commercial building, some other technological upgrades were being studied and if found necessary, would be implemented in due course.
20/07/09 Antara Bose/The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports Jul 2009