This story is from November 7, 2019

Long queues at Patna airport annoy flyers

Come winter and long queues of flyers can be seen at the Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport. The rush has reportedly increased since the last one week because of the addition of more domestic flights to the airport’s winter schedule.
Long queues at Patna airport annoy flyers
Patna airport
PATNA: Come winter and long queues of flyers can be seen at the Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport. The rush has reportedly increased since the last one week because of the addition of more domestic flights to the airport’s winter schedule.
According to passengers waiting outside the terminal building and those at the boarding counters, it takes them almost an hour to reach the security hold area.

The existing terminal building is spread over an area of 7,200 square metres. However, many flyers complained about the lack of facilities at the airport. One Jayant Kumar told this newspaper on Wednesday, “The airport is mismanaged, congested and dirty. The screens put up to display the arrival and departure of flights never show the actual timing. Airline executives also have no idea about the flights.”
Another passenger, Meghna Singh, who boarded a Hyderabad-bound flight from the city airport, said, “It took me around 25 minutes to get inside the terminal building and another 30 minutes to reach the frisking booth.”
Some even took to Twitter to vent their anger against delayed flights, long queues and traffic congestion on roads. Ameet Chandan Jha posted on his Twitter handle, “I have reached the Patna airport, a little late due to traffic. GoAir executive is denying to issue boarding pass (sic).”
In response, GoAir wrote, “We are sorry for the inconvenience. Please reach our ground staff for the latest updates and local assistance. We hope to serve you better in your future travels (sic).”

Meanwhile, evening flights, especially those from Delhi and Kolkata, are arriving here quite late. An Air India flight (AI- 732), for instance, reached Patna from Kolkata at 1.46am on Wednesday, instead of arriving at 8.40pm on Tuesday. Several other flights from Delhi were also delayed on Tuesday.
Umesh Kumar, who had spent six hours at the airport on Tuesday, claimed that his flight was rescheduled four times (9.10pm, 10pm, 11.55pm and 1.15am). It, however, reached here at 1.45am. He rued, “No staff was available to help the passengers, who were stranded at the airport.”
On the contrary, JPNI airport’s assistant general manager (air traffic management) Santosh Kumar said, “The flights are arriving late because they are flying behind schedule. On Monday, many flights from Delhi got delayed due to poor visibility there.”
He added, “Visibility in Patna is fine and we are not facing any trouble in take off or landing. We are also gearing up to tackle fogging conditions in the winter season.”
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About the Author
Faryal Rumi

She is working with the Times of India as a Senior Digital Content Creator on the Patna desk.

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