Aerobridge retired hurt for four months

Calcutta, one of the two major state-run international airports in the country, has been operating international flights without an aerobridge for nearly four months.
The only aerobridge at the airport’s international terminal had developed a snag four months ago and has been lying unused, inconveniencing passengers. “There is a problem with the aerobridge but it will be operational within this week,” said airport director R. Srinivasan on Tuesday.
All the major airlines operating international here have complained to the airport authorities about the inconvenience caused and requested them to take steps to get the aerobridge up and running fast.
“Had it been an airport operated by private parties like in Mumbai or Delhi, this would have been repaired much faster. But Calcutta being run by the Airports Authority of India (along with Chennai) there is hardly any initiative to restore the aerobridge,” said the official of an international airline operating to the city. “The effort by the authorities to restore it has been lackadaisical and no one really seems to be bothered,” he said.
Airport officials claimed that the Indonesian firm from which the aerobridge was procured around eight years ago was not providing proper after-sales maintenance.
16/05/10 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports Jun 2010