Rates go overboard at new terminal in Airport

NEW DELHI: In these tough times for the aviation industry, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to burn another hole in the coffers of airlines. Exorbitant charges for floor space at the unfinished new terminal in Chennai has shocked airline officials.  Airlines will now have to pay Rs 2200 per sq metre to rent space in the new terminal against the Rs 989 they paid in the old terminal. Even Delhi’s T3 charges only  Rs 1051 with all its facilities. “In these dire times of slow business, it is the last straw for airlines and will bog down its existing losses,” an airline official based in its headquarters in Mumbai said. He adds, “The AAI also wants us to move to the Common User Terminal System (CUTE), the cost of which is 500 per cent more than our existing expenses.”Operators say that in spite of the good façade of the new terminal, it has zero functional value right now. The new terminal does not have any aero-bridges nor does it have the Baggage Reconcilliation System that helps airlines sort and trace baggage for different flights. In a meeting on Friday, the AAI informed airline officials that the new baggage system will take at least a year and a half to be installed. “In the three years that it has been under construction, how did the airport fail to tender for aerobridges and in-line baggage systems which are basic utilities for a modern airport?” an aviation expert questioned. The AAI proposes to transit passengers through the old terminal once they enter through the new one so that the three aerobridges in the old terminal can be used. Alternatively, the AAI has also proposed to transit arrival and departure passengers from the same level and gates, which will result in chaos, say airline officials. “The AAI’s planning lacks sensitivity to passenger convenience and airport progress. It does not make any logical sense. This is not modernisation really. It is a mere glass façade and is useless without its basic functions,” a senior AAI official in Delhi said. He adds that the terminal is being pushed to open in time for the Tamil New Year as per a commitment by AAI Chairman VP Agrawal.