Following the Airports Authority of India's decision not to have voice announcements at the domestic terminal of Chennai airport from May 1, the first two days of 'silence' went off smoothly. In line with the policy, the airport's authorities are increasing the number of digital flight information boards at the terminal so that passengers will be able to locate their boarding gates and baggage belts.
Passengers did not find a stark difference because many airlines had already cut down on their announcements in the last few weeks. A senior AAI official said, "The new system functioned well. We will take feedback from airlines and passengers a few days later and increase the number of display boards. The system was brought in because voice announcements were not making much of a difference as it was difficult for passengers to hear them in the huge terminal." People were already using the display boards to navigate at the terminal, he said, adding, "The final call for boarding was made only very rarely, when a passenger did not report on time at the gate."
Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) national president D Sudhakara Reddy said that airlines and airport authorities should work in close coordination to ensure a minute by minute update of the information boards.
"Passengers are used to the concept because all major airports in the country are silent. But there should be good coordination which often does not happen. In Mumbai, the information boards at the terminal showed that a Mumbai-Chennai flight would depart from boarding gate 50 on Friday. But boarding was alloted at gate number 49. Not all passengers received texts. This shows that airlines and airport staff should keep the flight information boards updated. This may not be an issue in Chennai because boarding gates are rarely changed." he said.
An airport official said that such confusion happens when a flight is delayed. Airlines issue messages to passengers that the flight is delayed but the airport boards may not reflect the finer details. Officials are taking steps at Chennai airport to ensure that such mismatch in flight information does not happen.
He also said passengers would have to provide their working mobile numbers when booking tickets because airlines tend to send text messages on flight delays, changes in boarding gates and so on. However, he added, "Our experience shows that majority of the passengers do not wait for an announcement or messages. They check the information boards placed at different parts of the terminals."
Passengers did not find a stark difference because many airlines had already cut down on their announcements in the last few weeks. A senior AAI official said, "The new system functioned well. We will take feedback from airlines and passengers a few days later and increase the number of display boards. The system was brought in because voice announcements were not making much of a difference as it was difficult for passengers to hear them in the huge terminal." People were already using the display boards to navigate at the terminal, he said, adding, "The final call for boarding was made only very rarely, when a passenger did not report on time at the gate."
Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) national president D Sudhakara Reddy said that airlines and airport authorities should work in close coordination to ensure a minute by minute update of the information boards.
"Passengers are used to the concept because all major airports in the country are silent. But there should be good coordination which often does not happen. In Mumbai, the information boards at the terminal showed that a Mumbai-Chennai flight would depart from boarding gate 50 on Friday. But boarding was alloted at gate number 49. Not all passengers received texts. This shows that airlines and airport staff should keep the flight information boards updated. This may not be an issue in Chennai because boarding gates are rarely changed." he said.
An airport official said that such confusion happens when a flight is delayed. Airlines issue messages to passengers that the flight is delayed but the airport boards may not reflect the finer details. Officials are taking steps at Chennai airport to ensure that such mismatch in flight information does not happen.
He also said passengers would have to provide their working mobile numbers when booking tickets because airlines tend to send text messages on flight delays, changes in boarding gates and so on. However, he added, "Our experience shows that majority of the passengers do not wait for an announcement or messages. They check the information boards placed at different parts of the terminals."