Mosquito menace spreads fear among airport users

Chennai Airport is one of the busiest airports in the country as nearly 500 flights arrive and depart from Chennai every day. The footfall of the airport touches 40,000 on a single day. However, sources said that mosquitoes menace has increased in the airport recently and passengers who come here to board flights are worried.

According to the airport users, the problem is prevalent both in domestic and international terminals. Passengers claimed that many viruses were spreading across the world and the airport officials were not even able to prevent mosquito breeding in the premises — where thousands of passengers from different countries interact — and it could lead to fever outbreak apart from posing health hazards. “When I went to drop my cousin at the airport one night, I could not even wait for a few minutes as there were so many mosquitos. Officials should take steps to control the menace and should not take it lightly as many diseases may spread among the passengers,” said Kumaresan, an NRI presently residing in Chennai.

Airport officials pointed out that the increased mosquito menace could be due to the plants being grown inside the airport. “Mosquitos are breeding from there and it is spreading everywhere inside the airport,” an official said. He added that they were doing their best to prevent the mosquitos from breeding inside the airport.

“Every day, different types of pesticides are being sprayed in the premise using the fogger. Even natural plants are being replaced every month. We are doing our best to control the mosquitoes,” the official said.