[1]Airline companies have decided not to undertake departure trial runs at the new domestic terminal at the city airport until all facilities are made available.
This has prompted the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to decide, after a meeting with all stakeholders in the airport on Thursday, to now have a dummy run instead on July 2 to check shortcomings in the newly-installed systems at the terminal.
The AAI now plans to check the newly-installed systems such as common user terminal equipment (CUTE), building management systems (BMS), computer systems, CCTVs and security systems.
“We do not think it is possible to do the departure trial run before August end, as the aerobridges would be in place only around that time,” said airport director H.S. Suresh. The tender process for the appointment of master concessionaire is also yet to begin, he said.
“We will now do our in-house trial using the dummy runs and later go for a full-fledged departure trial run when all systems are in place,” said Suresh.
The airlines have said that they cannot inconvenience their passengers. “We cannot compromise on our passengers’ comfort to try out a new terminal.
We need all facilities, including aerobridges and stalls, inside the terminal before any such trial run can be conducted,” said an airline company official.
During arrival trial run, passengers only had to walk out of the terminal, whereas the departing passengers need to be provided with facilities that include refreshment stalls and recreational activities.
The airlines are ready to provide men for dummy run and help AAI project officials check on the efficiency of the facilities installed inside the terminal, said the airline official.
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[1] http://archive.asianage.com/29airportgifcropdisplayjpg-048