CHENNAI: Passengers at city airport are being forced to use open bay ladders instead of an aerobridge, even though the latter lies vacant. In an airport with more than 100 aircraft parking bays, six are in the domestic terminal and five in the international terminal. All are equipped with aerobridges for passenger boarding and deboarding. Work is underway to add two more.
However, passengers lamented that many flights were parked at open bays, which forced senior citizens, pregnant women and many with babies, to climb down the stairs and board crowded shuttle buses to reach the terminal building. The situation became worse during heavy rains, passengers said.
On Thursday night, an Indigo Airlines flight from Mumbai, carrying around 180 passengers, landed at the domestic airport, and parked at an open bay instead of an aerobridge-equipped bay. Passengers were surprised to notice that 3 aerobridges nearby were lying vacant. Several questioned the airline staff why they were made to disembark through staircases and travel by buses despite the availability of aerobridges.
However, the airport officials said that Bay 19, which has an aerobridge, had initially been allotted to the flight. However, the open Bay 25 was assigned at the request of the airline.
“Being one of the largest airports in the country, the Chennai airport should increase the number of aerobridges and ensure that the existing facilities are effectively utilised to avoid unnecessary inconveniences to passengers,” said a passenger from the Mumbai flight.