Poor signage, no proper Wi-Fi, no meet-and-greet facility to assist the elderly and no direct connectivity to Europe or the US. It is still called an international terminal.
The Kolkata airport’s international section has very few passengers and it also lacks some of the basic facilities available at most other international airports.
Wi-Fi
Airport sources said many passengers, particularly those who do not have Indian phone connections, cannot avail themselves of the Wi-Fi facility at the Kolkata airport.
“A one-time password is sent to the phone by the Wi-Fi service provider. But that OTP is sent only to phones with Indian connections. So, foreign nationals or Kolkatans who stay abroad and don’t have local numbers, face severe inconvenience,” said an airport official.
He said often these passengers approach them for help. They face problems with downloading boarding cards or making online payments for excess baggage and other services.
“We ask those at the ‘May I Help You’ counters to help these passengers get Wi-Fi connection,” said the official.
An official in an international airline said they often arrange to get OTPs in their personal phones and share them with the passengers so they can access the Wi-Fi.
The integrated terminal became operational in 2013, but for many years it did not have a Wi-Fi facility at all. Now it has, but only for a few.
“We have given the contract for the Wi-Fi service to a new agency. The quality of service should improve in about a week’s time,” a senior official at the Kolkata airport said on Monday.
Meet-and-greet
Airlines operating international flights from Kolkata alleged that the airport does not have a proper meet-and-greet service, a paid facility to assist passengers available at most big airports.
“We are flooded with requests for assistance from people staying abroad and whose elderly parents are travelling from Kolkata to meet them,” said an official of an international airline.
While travelling on international flights, a passenger has to pass through check-in counters, immigration and then boarding area to get into the flight.
“Often, passengers get confused. We provide assistance to such passengers on request, but sometimes it becomes a huge challenge because we don’t have enough personnel to provide such services,” he said.
A woman from Dubai recently wanted the meet-and-greet service for her elderly and ailing parents.
“There are such paid services available in Dubai. I was surprised to find out there is no such service at the Kolkata airport,” she said.
At the Mumbai airport, a private agency offers bronze, silver, gold and platinum categories of meet-and-greet services, which include receiving the passenger on the kerbside and providing porters and lounge access.
At the Kolkata airport, the service has not been there for several months now.
“A private agency that was managing the parking provided a few people for this service. It was basic. But with the agency gone, the service is no longer available,” said an airport official.
There is a “May I Help You” desk but, sources said, they are mostly busy handling “VIP passengers” in the domestic section.
Lack of proper signage
Although the airport authorities have provided signage both inside and outside the terminal building, several airline officials said that is far from enough.
“Often passengers who are new to the airport seek directions from the airlines or other airport staff to go to the immigration area or lounges,” said an airline official.
Outside the terminal, there is signage indicating the bus terminus, parking area and the taxi stand.
“If there are specific complaints, we can address the issue,” said an airport official.
Overcrowded lounge
The international section has two business class lounges but officials of several airlines said they are overcrowded at times.
“Through the day, the lounges have enough space, but late in the evening when several flights have back-to-back departures, often there are queues to enter the lounges. That’s because not just business class passengers, even economy class passengers with credit cards avail themselves of the lounge facilities,” said an official of an airline.
A senior official of Travel Food Services, which manages both lounges, said that at this point there are not enough passengers through the day to have more than two lounges. “If there are more passengers and the demand increases, we can open more lounges,” he said.
“Now, the lounges have enough capacity to accommodate the passengers,” he said.
The passenger count — departure and arrival — in the international section of the airport averages between 3,000 and 4,000.
No direct Europe flight
Around 25 international flights take off from Kolkata every day, but none directly connects the city to Europe or the US.
“This is one of the biggest problems of the airport. We have to spend so much time travelling to Europe,” said Ashit Kumar Basak, a frequent flier. He often has to spend up to four hours for a connecting flight in a West Asian airport while travelling to Europe.
“While returning, because of the flight timings, we often spend eight hours in transit,” he said.
An airport official said no airline has shown interest in starting direct flights to Europe or the US.