Airport to get separate travellers’ helpdesk

FOR MEET AND GREET

Airport to get separate travellers’ helpdesk

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:31.10.2021

Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to set up a facility to guide passengers who arrive and depart the city.

The meet-and-greet counter and its staff, popular in other airports, will assist departing passengers to fasttrack check-in formalities while assisting those who arrive with baggage, transport options to the city.

A tender has been floated to identify a company which will be able to carry out the work. The work is likely to be awarded next month.

An AAI official said a meet-and-greet facility is available at all airports and there has been a demand for the service for some time, especially from passengers who arrive for the first time and those who travel on business.

Passengers will have to pay a fee to use the service, but many have expressed that the absence of the service was an inconvenience, especially because of the ongoing construction work that makes alighting from vehicles and boarding cars a hassle. The service will be of use for business class passengers and is crucial as scheduled international flights may resume mid next month.

Barricading, movement of heavy vehicles, workers and equipment to build integrated terminals and two multi-level car parks is causing a hassle for passengers. As travel has resumed in a big way and the domestic terminal alone has started to see 20,000 passengers per day, there is congestion at check in counters and at security check in.

The assistance facility including a helpdesk is likely to be of help in this scenario, said an airline official. The airport is also not able to install enough signage on the city side due to construction work.

Chennai airport had a meet-and-greet facility a few years ago but it was not a success as the staff of the firm were not allowed access to the security check area and meet the passengers at the aerobridge or arrival gates. Sources said there was no need for assistance for passengers if it cannot be provided from the aerobridge or arrival gate and assistance all the way till the boarding gates in the case of departing passengers.

As the staff were not allowed into the security check area, passengers who needed assistance were forced to depend on ground staff or baggage handlers to help them carry out the formalities inside terminals. The airport does not have adequate staff to assist business class passengers also as it has only one ground handling company serving international flights.