With the new integrated terminal building of Mangalore Airport (NITB) becoming operational from Aug 2, 2010 the long awaited dream of Mangaloreans has finally been fulfilled, albeit after much delay. Though the NITB was inaugurated on May 15, 2010 the terminal was not open for operations until today. With the shifting of the services completely to the new terminal the distance to the airport has been reduced by nearly 6 kms, which has come as a big relief to travelers from the coastal districts of Karnataka and the border districts of neighboring Kerala.
Apart from reducing the distance to the airport the NITB has become more of a necessity after the airport opened its door to international flights to operate from here four years back. Several airlines began to operate international flights from Mangalore airport to the Middle-East facilitating easy transit for a large number of people working in the Gulf countries. Therefore raising the airport to international standards was the need of the hour and the opening of the new terminal building is certainly a dream come true for the people of the coastal districts. Air India Express IX 820 from Bahrain/Kuwait was the first flight to land at the new terminal at 7.10 am today. The same Air India Express IX 820 was the first flight to depart to Dubai from the new terminal.
M R Vasudeva and Air India Station Manager Chellam Prasad along with other Airport officials and Air India Staff were present at the new terminal to greet the passengers arrived by the first flight which landed at the new terminal building.
Speaking to daijiworld.com Airport Director M R Vasudeva said “the new terminal is a gift to the people of Mangalore who have been waiting for this momentous day for a long time. The terminal is now operational and will be on trial basis for another 15 to 20 days and all facilities are available to passengers and airlines except the aerobridges which will be installed subsequently. NITB provides a comfortable and convenient ambience to both the passengers and the visitors. We have been able to provide more space to the airlines, for restaurants and shops, better facilities and space for passengers at the lounge and lobby”.
Air India Station Manager Chellam Prasad termed it “as a proud moment for Air India to be the first airline to land its aircraft at the new terminal. All credit should go to the Airport Director for making this dream a reality”.
The shortcomings
The initial euphoria not withstanding, not everything at the airport is near perfect at least from the point of view of the private airlines who feel that the facilities are inadequate. One of the private airlines official on condition of anonymity stated that lot work is still pending and there seems to be a few technical flaws which should have been taken care of at the time of the construction of the new terminal. The main grouse of the airlines is that there is no proper storage facility for the airlines to store necessary basic engineering equipments at the new terminal which might be required by the aircrafts such as tyres and other spare parts. These parts or equipments are very expensive and need to be stored with foolproof safety. But such a basic facility usually provided at international airports is not provided at the new terminal. The private airlines feel that they should have been taken into confidence during the process of construction of the new terminal.
The other flaw is that there is no provision for the airlines to go to the basement from inside the terminal in case the airline staff wants to approach the passengers or get their luggage. Suppose a passenger is taken ill after going in and does not want to travel the airline staff has to come out of the terminal into the public area and go a round about way to reach them which is a major drawback.
Proper surveillance system is the other major area the concerns the airlines, especially the bird hit issue though it is not directly connected with the new terminal. In the recent past there have been 3 cases of bird hit at the Bajpe airport including last weeks incident of a peacock that had hit the Jet Airways while landing, causing damage to the aircraft and delay in its departure. It is the emergency situations arising out of situations like this necessitate the need of proper storage facility for engineering equipments. These airlines have decided to take up the issue to the notice of the airport authorities as they feel that it is the duty of the Airport Authority to provide a clear ground for landing and departure. The airlines feel that Airport Authority should make provisions to deploy someone at least at the time of departure or make some arrangements to scare the birds and reduce such incidents.
There are also complaints of lack of proper communication facilities at the basement of the new terminal which comes in the way of effective communication. Security at the new terminal building is another major issue. With more entrance and exit areas and more space to be guarded the job of the Central Industrial Security Force has become all the more cumbersome and challenging. It certainly calls for increased manpower to man the new terminal building.
Once these lacunae are taken care of may be the new terminal building will be safe, comfortable and convenient for the passengers, airlines and the visitors. The NITB can handle about 500 passengers at a time both arrival and departure. Provisions are made for handling domestic and international passengers separately. Facilities are also provided for parking more than 300 cars at the terminal. The new terminal is capable of handling about 500 visitors at time.
There were apprehensions about the approach road to the new terminal building which are now allayed with separate provisions for entry and exit. Vehicles entering the NITB have to approach from the Shree Devi Institute of Technology road and the exit is from the road adjacent to the Deccan Park. The state government has promised to provide Rs. 9 crores to develop the new exit road. Though the dispute regarding the Deccan Park area is yet to be resolved Vasudeva feels that it will be solved and will not come in the way of developing the road.
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