Pune airport betters rank by a notch, slow growth a concern

  • | Thursday | 23rd November, 2017

Sources said that the ranking of the Pune airport was among 300 facilities across the world coming under the category.An airport official described the third quarter rating as "good". The ratings are worldwide," an Airports Official of India official from New Delhi told TOI. Pune airport comes under the category of facilities catering to 2-5 million passengers a year. "It is good that the airport has moved forward, but the rate has been slow compared to the previous quarters. He said, "The airport is trying its best to meet the passengers' requirements with additional facilities.

Pune: The airport here has been able to move only a notch ahead in terms of quality of services provided to passengers in the third quarter of the year from the second quarter.This was revealed in the survey carried out by the Airports Council International (ACI). The airport had raced nine slots ahead from the first quarter to bag the 35th position. In the third quarter (July-September), the airport was ranked 34th. The ACI has been conducting the survey for around five years on airports willing to participate in it."There are various categories of airports on the basis of passenger traffic. Pune airport comes under the category of facilities catering to 2-5 million passengers a year. The ratings are worldwide," an Airports Official of India official from New Delhi told TOI. Sources said that the ranking of the Pune airport was among 300 facilities across the world coming under the category.An airport official described the third quarter rating as "good". He said, "The airport is trying its best to meet the passengers' requirements with additional facilities. We believe that our rating will improve further with more add-on facilities."However, frequent flyers and aviation experts do not appear much convinced. Atulya Parashar, a frequent flyer, said, "The situation might have improved, but still many problems exist. I have experiences of waiting in the aircraft for long as parking bays were not available... not to talk about the chaos while collecting luggage from the conveyor belts."He said, "Rain spells havoc and passengers get wait as they have to walk to and from the terminal building or an aircraft. How can one allow that to happen? These things hit the facilities and leave a bad taste in the mouths of the passengers."Sarmishtha Sinha Jadhav, another frequent flyer, shared a similar view. "There is no doubt that the airport has improved than what it was a year or two ago. But still there is something missing. The problem, I feel, is that the airport has been loaded with a lot of flights. But the infrastructure to handle such pressure is inadequate. This leads to serious issues," she said.Of the 33 parameters under which the airports were been rated, the performance of Pune airport slipped from the second to the third quarter in 24 segments (see graphic). Among these parametres are parking facilities, waiting time in queues and efficiency of the check-in staff.Aviation expert and analyst Dhairyashil Vandekar told TOI that it was a concern that the airport moved only a slot in the third quarter of the year as against nine positions in the second quarter from the previous one. "It is good that the airport has moved forward, but the rate has been slow compared to the previous quarters. One should take stock of it," he said."Growth, if not controlled, can and will lead to chaos. It is not only the fault of the airport authorities. If the rating about the check-in staff's efficiency has dropped, it is the fault of the airlines concerned. They should try to do a better job. This survey is like a mirror. No matter what the airport claims, the mirror reflects the true picture as the survey depends on the flyers' feedback," he said.

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