In what may come as a relief for travellers at the Srinagar International Airport, members of the Airport Advisory Committee (AAC) which met at the aerodrome premises on Thursday has recommended expeditious security checks and measures for traffic decongestion at Srinagar International Airport.
The meeting of the AAC of the Srinagar Airport was chaired by Dr Farooq Abdullah, Member of Parliament. As per a statement, the AAC members were informed that plans for construction of a new integrated terminal building for Srinagar Airport are in an advanced stage.
“The existing building will be upgraded and interlinked with the new building to provide a seamless experience. On construction and commissioning the passenger area will increase from 20,226 SM to 64,360 SM. The annual passenger capacity will increase from 2.5 million to 6.5 million. The peak hour passenger capacity will be augmented to 3,000 from the existing 950. A state of the art modern multi-level car parking will also be constructed for parking of 1000 vehicles” the statement said.
The members of the committee were requested to point out the deficiencies in the management of the airport, suggest ways and means to improve the service standards, and advice on introduction of any new facilities to make the passenger experience more congenial and delightful.
Several suggestions were received from the Chairman and the members of the committee which includes traffic jams,long queue at drop gate.
The members have also recommended a free of cost bus service, electric cart from drop gate and introduction of food court at the airport.
Among other recommendations includes Foreign Exchange counter for international passengers and allowing tourists to visit airport for buying tickets.
The members have also pitched for a staff canteen. However, the most important take away from the meeting was the need felt for expeditious security checks for passenger convenience. The airport management assured the committee to diligently work and implement the suggestion received so that the overall passenger experience may be improved.