Chennai: The new glass-and-steel domestic terminal at Chennai airport is a show piece—and it may remain just that for several months. A trial on Friday to check the readiness of the Rs 1,212-crore terminal found that it cannot be functional because of a faulty design that rendered a baggage ramp useless. Following this, the Airports Authority of India has decided to form a safety assessment review panel headed by the director general of civil aviation.
TOI on November 4, 2012 reported that a baggage ramp built into the basement was too steep for the tractors with trolleys to negotiate. Friday's trial - the third one so far - validated this. "The battery operated tractors kept skidding down the ramp and they had to make several attempts to climb the ramp from the basement onto the tarmac," an official who witnessed the trial told TOI. The more powerful diesel tractors cannot be used since the terminal is designated as a green building.
09/03/13 Arun Janardhanan/Times of India
