Kolkata: Bagdogra airport, the gateway to Darjeeling, Sikkim and Bhutan for domestic and international tourists, needs an urgent upgrade to reduce congestion in the ageing terminal. But with state government sitting over an Airports Authority of India proposal for additional land required for modernization, passengers have to make do with an apology of a terminal that continues to be in use despite having long outlived its utility.
Australian Sandra O'Conner, who had an otherwise lovely vacation in Darjeeling, the Queen among Indian hill stations, said the only sad part was the airport that leaves one with a rather sour after-taste. "After Delhi and Kolkata airport, one expects the facility at Bagdogra to be decent. But it is rather pre-historic and wholly inadequate," she remarked.
She isn't too much off the mark. Facilities at the airport are basic. The queue at the entry is long since there is only one entrance. The poorly lit terminal building is depressing. One has to walk up a flight of stairs with the cabin luggage as there is no escalator. Upstairs, there is a huge queue for security check. If one takes an international flight, it is worse with the Immigration and Customs situated along a narrow channel with iron mesh that appears to be like a prison row. There are hardly any refreshment options.
09/09/14 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India
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Australian Sandra O'Conner, who had an otherwise lovely vacation in Darjeeling, the Queen among Indian hill stations, said the only sad part was the airport that leaves one with a rather sour after-taste. "After Delhi and Kolkata airport, one expects the facility at Bagdogra to be decent. But it is rather pre-historic and wholly inadequate," she remarked.
She isn't too much off the mark. Facilities at the airport are basic. The queue at the entry is long since there is only one entrance. The poorly lit terminal building is depressing. One has to walk up a flight of stairs with the cabin luggage as there is no escalator. Upstairs, there is a huge queue for security check. If one takes an international flight, it is worse with the Immigration and Customs situated along a narrow channel with iron mesh that appears to be like a prison row. There are hardly any refreshment options.
09/09/14 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India
