Chennai: Travellers reaching Chennai on red-eye flights late at night may have to wait longer to get their bags at the domestic terminal as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started work near the main runway to straighten a taxiway. Since the work will be taken up at night and the main runway will be closed at the time, a few domestic flights will be taxiing to the remote parking bays near the second runway.
This means passengers will be ferried from the remote parking bays to the domestic terminal in shuttle buses that will have to cover around 5km. Though the buses may reach the terminals quickly, the bags may not because slow-moving battery-operated vehicles bring the trolleys to the terminal.
“We are trying to rope in trucks to shift the bags to the terminal. Passengers may experience delays in reaching the terminal and receiving bags on the conveyor belt for nine months because the work to straighten the taxiway is entering a crucial phase. The runway closure is also being done under the condition that it has to be released for flights in less than an hour in case of an emergency,” said a senior AAI official.
Domestic airlines operate around five to six red-eye flights from other cities and park the planes in the remote bay overnight so that they can be operated as early morning services from Chennai. The work and the runway closure will affect only those flights. “The number of passengers who take red-eye flights is increasing because they are cheaper. Some flyers may also want to connect to an international flight. These passengers are likely to face delays because of the work,” he added.
18/02/18 Times of India
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This means passengers will be ferried from the remote parking bays to the domestic terminal in shuttle buses that will have to cover around 5km. Though the buses may reach the terminals quickly, the bags may not because slow-moving battery-operated vehicles bring the trolleys to the terminal.
“We are trying to rope in trucks to shift the bags to the terminal. Passengers may experience delays in reaching the terminal and receiving bags on the conveyor belt for nine months because the work to straighten the taxiway is entering a crucial phase. The runway closure is also being done under the condition that it has to be released for flights in less than an hour in case of an emergency,” said a senior AAI official.
Domestic airlines operate around five to six red-eye flights from other cities and park the planes in the remote bay overnight so that they can be operated as early morning services from Chennai. The work and the runway closure will affect only those flights. “The number of passengers who take red-eye flights is increasing because they are cheaper. Some flyers may also want to connect to an international flight. These passengers are likely to face delays because of the work,” he added.
18/02/18 Times of India
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