Passengers Fumed at Lack of Seating Arrangement at Mangaluru International Airport During Back-to-Back Flight Timings
Mangaluru: The domestic and international passengers flying out of Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) have complained that the airport has insufficient seating arrangements at departure areas, especially during back-to-back flights. Some passengers who recently travelled from MIA expressed that during peak hours — morning and evening — when there are several back-to-back domestic flights, the terminal gets crowded and they have no places to sit and wait for their flights. For the past month, the airport has been recording 6,000 plus footfalls every day. On November 19, the airport handled 7,399 passengers, with 26 arrivals and 25 departures, the highest ever daily passengers that the airport handled since the commercial operation date (COD) of October 31, 2020.
A few days ago, X (formerly Twitter) user Sidharth Rath @sidharthrath posted, “Dear @mlrairport, you don’t have enough seats for domestic passengers… Please do the basics right. (Maybe get a lounge too while you’re at it).” The airport has been recording 6,000 plus footfall on average for the past month and is likely to go up in the coming days. Rath later told the media (on X) that he reached MIA at around 8 pm, for a flight to Delhi. The check-in and security experience was seamless without any hassle. However, the seating area for domestic departures is very limited. People were standing everywhere, and there was barely any place to walk on the upper floor. The delay of one more flight meant that the already limited space was completely overwhelmed. It was a poor passenger experience waiting for a delayed flight for hours without proper seats. The ground floor air conditioning also did not feel adequate and comfortable.
“I experienced a similar situation while travelling to Dubai a few weeks ago. There were two international flights departing for Dubai and Qatar. As the passenger flow was high, there was no ample place for many of them to sit,” complained another passenger, who did not wish to be named. A domestic passenger who recently flew to Mumbai complained that the terminal gets warmer and the air conditioning does not help.
Reacting to the complaints, sources from MIA maintained that seating is insufficient only when there are back-to-back domestic and international flights. It happens both in the morning and evening. Besides, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has rules on the total number of seats in a terminal. “The issue will be resolved with MIA’s terminal modification plan,” the source added.
