This post has been published as a part of ‘The CBC Tablog – 2.
Where a group of bloggers from CBC Chennai Bloggers Club) have come
together to write on the topic – “One aspect of Chennai that I would
like to change”
I thank my dear friend Sriram Acharya for passing the baton to me. Sriram, who calls himself 'a son, a brother, a friend, a HR Professional, a science afictionado (whatever that means)', to me, will always be the Kamal Hassan of blogging. Not everyone can easily understand what he tries to write, but when you do, it turns out to be something way too profound. You can peek into his world here
This post is doubly special to me because it has also formed as sort of a comeback to my blog which has been in hiatus for a while now.
Chennai is always associated by all of us as the Gateway to South India. Well, atleast the Gateway to the Tamil state, more so in recent times (thanks to Bangalore & Hyderabad taking over). To me, the simple reason is because this 375 year old city seems to have lost out to its sisters (or brothers, as you choose to see it) when it comes to civil aviation. Yes, the Madras Airport is largely a resemblance of everything that can go wrong in an international airport.
The last few trips home, wading my way through the new international terminal, I was somewhat heartened to see that it looked good. But then in came the shock. The check-in counters were too little in number. I do agree that only 3-4 airlines have shifted base here, but still this was way too little.
And BAM !! Another shocker. Although there were around 15 immigration counters, only three were being used. Dear Chennai Airport, why have so many counters, if they are not to be used? Are your staff that lethargic to even do their duty? Needless to say, the immigration queue was long. Like, really long. After what seemed like eternity, I was waved off by an immigration officer (who did not even bother to check my Visa, is another story) and security check gave me even more of a shocker.
Yes, there were just two security walk-ins. Are you kiddin' me? Two security walk-ins for the capacity of more than a million that you've planned? So, we basically have to come to the airport 6 hours prior to departure? Is that the idea? Anyway, finally we were through security check and had to proceed to the boarding gate. There was just one food stall, and one duty free shop (apart from the alcohol shop). And this duty free shop was adversely (that, being very soft) over-priced. India is perhaps the only country in the world where duty free goods cost much more than outside.
And my least favorite part now - the restrooms. The most dilapidated condition is what I have to say. Woodwork still dangling from air, hand showers not working, no toilet papers, no hand wash soaps - nothing. Pathetic toilet facilities.
It has been more than a year since the new terminal opened up, but come on. Its been a year & the services are still so bad?
Well, this is certainly the one big thing I'd like to see changed in my beloved city in the coming days.
I now pass the baton to another friend Amrutha Iyengar.
I thank my dear friend Sriram Acharya for passing the baton to me. Sriram, who calls himself 'a son, a brother, a friend, a HR Professional, a science afictionado (whatever that means)', to me, will always be the Kamal Hassan of blogging. Not everyone can easily understand what he tries to write, but when you do, it turns out to be something way too profound. You can peek into his world here
This post is doubly special to me because it has also formed as sort of a comeback to my blog which has been in hiatus for a while now.
Chennai is always associated by all of us as the Gateway to South India. Well, atleast the Gateway to the Tamil state, more so in recent times (thanks to Bangalore & Hyderabad taking over). To me, the simple reason is because this 375 year old city seems to have lost out to its sisters (or brothers, as you choose to see it) when it comes to civil aviation. Yes, the Madras Airport is largely a resemblance of everything that can go wrong in an international airport.
The last few trips home, wading my way through the new international terminal, I was somewhat heartened to see that it looked good. But then in came the shock. The check-in counters were too little in number. I do agree that only 3-4 airlines have shifted base here, but still this was way too little.
And BAM !! Another shocker. Although there were around 15 immigration counters, only three were being used. Dear Chennai Airport, why have so many counters, if they are not to be used? Are your staff that lethargic to even do their duty? Needless to say, the immigration queue was long. Like, really long. After what seemed like eternity, I was waved off by an immigration officer (who did not even bother to check my Visa, is another story) and security check gave me even more of a shocker.
Yes, there were just two security walk-ins. Are you kiddin' me? Two security walk-ins for the capacity of more than a million that you've planned? So, we basically have to come to the airport 6 hours prior to departure? Is that the idea? Anyway, finally we were through security check and had to proceed to the boarding gate. There was just one food stall, and one duty free shop (apart from the alcohol shop). And this duty free shop was adversely (that, being very soft) over-priced. India is perhaps the only country in the world where duty free goods cost much more than outside.
And my least favorite part now - the restrooms. The most dilapidated condition is what I have to say. Woodwork still dangling from air, hand showers not working, no toilet papers, no hand wash soaps - nothing. Pathetic toilet facilities.
It has been more than a year since the new terminal opened up, but come on. Its been a year & the services are still so bad?
Well, this is certainly the one big thing I'd like to see changed in my beloved city in the coming days.
I now pass the baton to another friend Amrutha Iyengar.
That's why we need one more (competitive) airport in Mogappair twin city :P
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity