Lack of dormitory at Chennai Airport hits transit passengers

Despite being one of the biggest airports in the country with nearly 500 aircrafts flying in and out of the city every day, air passengers were forced to wait at the airport portico for several hours or check into nearby hotels due to the absence of dormitories.

Airport sources said that after the old dormitory was established, the new dormitory was proposed to be built at the departure area at the old international airport. It was scheduled to be inaugurated in September 2018. “However, the area marked for the dormitory is now used a storage space,” said sources.

When the dormitory was functioning, transit passengers had to pay Rs 700 to use the dormitory for up to 12 hours. “Now, they are forced to check into a hotel near the airport. Also, it is difficult to get decent accommodation outside airport at affordable rates,” said an airport official.

When contacted, the Airport director G Chandramouli said that the area allocated for the dormitory was close to a godown and was not suitable to construct a peaceful resting area for passengers. “Hence, the plan was dropped. Instead, we are now working on providing sleeping pods for transit passengers. It should be ready for use in thenext few months,” Chandramouli said.