World-class Ahmedabad airport is under a cloud

Ahmedabad’s swanky Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport handling 250 flights daily and 2,000 flyers every hour is under a cloud.
While the recent death of an ailing passenger due to delay in rushing her to hospital has raised questions on the coordination, preparedness and quick response of the agencies operating at the bustling airport, an international airline has just exposed the abysmal lack of facilities even at its Rs 3.1-billion spic-and-span international terminal.
A growing number of bird hits, an uncontrollable monkey menace and poor security also have of late earned a bad name for India’s eighth busiest airport which boasts 75 per cent domestic and 25 per cent international traffic.
On June 3, an Estonian woman travelling on a Goa-Delhi SpiceJet flight fainted mid-air with the result that the plane had to make an emergency landing at Ahmedabad. But thanks to mismanagement at the airport, the 42-year-old mother of two could not be taken to hospital in time leading to her death on the way. No doctor or ambulance was available at the airport despite the pilot informing the air traffic control officials about the medical emergency 30 minutes before landing. An ambulance of the Airport Authority of India which arrived later did not have even a stethoscope.
What’s more, the securitymen at the gates who were not informed about the case wasted 15 precious minutes in questioning and confirming the identities.
11/06/11 Mahesh Trivedi/Khaleej Times

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Categories: Airports Jun 2011