Airport sees both ups and downs

Chennai: While the good news is th­at passenger patronage of the city airport increased in 2013, the al­arming news is that they faced collapses and confusion throughout the year at the 2,015-crore, modernised Chennai airport. There were numerous false ceiling crashes, water leakages and glass cracks in the otherwise swanky airport.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) cleared all doubts about commissioning the much-awaited new terminals on January 31 when vice-president Hamid Ansari did the honours at the third busiest airport in the country in the presence of Union civil aviation minister Ajit Singh.

But the inaugural function was devoid of local representation as Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa skipped the event saying that she was hurt because the new domestic terminal-II was not named after former CM and Bharat Ratna M.G. Rama­chan­dran.

The name terminal-II still continues to confuse passengers who were earlier used to referring to the domestic terminal as Kamaraj terminal and the international terminal as Anna terminal. Even members of the Airline operators committee Chennai (AOCC) boycotted the event as they had a few unresolved issues with the AAI.

While issues like the steep ramp in the domestic terminal for movement of the tractor att­ached to baggage trolleys and lack of an in-line baggage system in the new international terminal have been resolved, airline operators feel that the AAI could improve on coordination between all agencies.

One of the important complaints of the airlines was the non-reopening of the secondary runway which was closed for extension and construction of a bridge over the Adyar river in 2009. The AAI is still awaiting clearance from the director general of civil aviation to start operations on the secondary runway.

Capt A. Ranganathan, a member of the civil aviation safety advisory council, raised concerns pertaining to the quality and strength of the bridge built across the Adyar. “The bridge on the Adyar river is not safe for landing and take-off of aircraft. It will be a safety, security and an environmental disaster,” he cautioned.

The issue escalated when the AAI wanted more land to instal a simple approach lighting system and the ILS to allow operation of bigger aircraft, according to airport director H.S. Suresh. “Flights ha­ve been marked to land only after the bridge, which means that the ILS could be installed in the existing area,” countered Mr R.J. David, a resident of Kolapakkam.

Even before the secondary runway issue could die down, employees were up in arms against the management, as the government decided to privatise the city airport on the lines of Delhi and Mumbai airports. While passengers are convinced that a private company would handle the airport better, the workforce is worried about their future.

Within 11 months of the opening of the two terminals, the authorities have faced at least 11 instances of glass cracking, a handful of false ceiling collapses and a few water seepages inside the building during the rains. Further, passengers are still waiting for the opening of an arrival hall at the new international terminal.

However, the glad news is that Chennai airport has seen an average increase of 800 passenger movements per day at 35,546 during April and September this year, compared to 34,745 in the same period last year. With the rising number of users, AAI’s member (planning) S. Raheja says that it would be ideal to plan a gtreenfield airport soon.