28 May,2010 08:59 AM IST | | Debarati Palit
If you need info, you are on your own at airport; at best you may get number of airline concerned The Lohegaon airport sees five departures and arrivals on an average every day.
AS if the Air India staffers' strike wasn't enough, flyers over the past couple of days also had to sift through confusing scraps of information at the Lohegaon airport to decide on their next move. The reason is the city airport does not have an enquiry counter.
An irritant even when things are smooth, lack of an information desk in times of crisis, like the recent strike, can be maddening. It does not help to ask the terminal manager, who is not equipped to provide information to flyers. Calls made to the manager's office either go unanswered or are transferred to the airline concerned.
Call 'divert'
"We get several calls throughout the day enquiring about flights, but because we do not have necessary details about each airline, we either give them some helpline number or the numbers of counters," said an official working with the Airport Authority in the city. "Of course, during the Air India strike, it was almost impossible to handle calls."
When MiD DAY approached the terminal manager late at night enquiring about cancelled flights, the official on duty directed us to the Air India counter, which was deserted. Upon returning to him and requesting more help, he finally gave us a helpline number.
Flyers' woes
Amul Chaugule, a lawyer and frequent flyer, said, "The Authority's telephone numbers are always busy so now I make it a point to keep in touch with my travel agent. I have made it clear to the agent that if there are any changes, he will inform me."
Avanti Honawar, working with Max Media and Creation Pvt Ltd, who flew to Bangalore yesterday, said, "I had a tough time.
My flight was delayed and I called the toll free number provided by the airlines, which was not reachable.
I had to reach the airport early and find out about it myself. An enquiry counter would have saved me time and effort."
| The Other Side |
| MANAGER, Airport Terminal, R N Singh, said: "We do get calls from passengers but we can't assist them personally. I admit not having an enquiry counter is a hindrance to flyers, but we help them with the airline's number." He said as the airport was small compared to Mumbai's, authorities had not provided for an information counter. "But the issue has been discussed and we will soon get a counter set up." |
