Chennai airport goes into silent mode'

Chennai: Chennai airport followed the footsteps of Mumbai and Hyderabad airports and went "silent" from Monday, putting an end to audio announcements on flight information.

This was done in an effort to enhance efficiency in serving travellers, authorities said and added that as part of initiative, the airport had made arrangements for information through digital displays.

"This is a silent airport. No boarding announcements will be made. Passengers are requested to check their flight status from information monitors," a notice displayed at the airport said.

Elaborating, an airport official said it was done taking a cue from Mumbai, Hyderabad and New Delhi airports.

"We have gone silent from today after taking the views of all stakeholders like airlines and other agencies at a recent meeting. We are using the Flight Information Display System (FIDS) that will help passengers know about their (respective) flights," an official told PTI.

"However, for some minor information like if a passenger gets an SMS stating that boarding to a particular plane will be from Gate No.8 and if it is changed to Gate No.9 at the last moment, we may make audio announcements to communicate with passengers," he said.

Earlier passengers were confused about information through audio announcements. If they did not listen properly to an announcement, there was a chance that they might even miss the flight. Now, such issues would not crop up, he said.

On feedback received from passengers about the new initiative, he said, "We had some teething problems today. But we will improve our service."