AAI plans slew of changes at airport for improved passenger experience

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The size of the new signboards, expected to be installed within four months, will be increased significantly and will also be well illuminated. | Photo Credit: SRINATH M.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has chalked out a detailed plan to enhance various facilities — from improving signage to creating workstations — across the domestic and international terminals at Chennai airport.

AAI officials said that over the last few weeks, they had carefully identified all the issues faced by the passengers and had made an extensive proposal to rectify them.

These plans come soon after the letter from the Tamil Nadu government to the Centre, seeking to change the operator of the city airport.

One of the major complaints is the lack of signage in the terminals, officials said. “We have identified the spots where the signage is missing or is inadequate. In the new signboards, the distance between the terminals too will be mentioned. Also, the size of the board will be increased significantly in all the earmarked areas and they will be well illuminated to catch the attention of passengers. This will improve wayfinding to a great extent,” an official said. The new boards are expected to be installed within four months, the officials said.

The AAI will also have display boards to indicate the waiting time above each queue at the security check. “Usually, people take a look and go by their hunch about which line might have the shortest waiting time. Now, we plan to fix boards displaying live waiting time above each line to help passengers,” an official said.

The type of furniture in the terminals too, will be changed; plastic chairs may be replaced with sofas and more murals reflecting the State’s heritage will be added to elevate the ambience, officials said.

“We also plan to create workstations where passengers will have comfortable furniture to sit and work on their laptops, allowing them to utilise the time before boarding. This will be useful for thousands who travel for work,” the official further said.

In addition to these changes, accessible charging points, more greenery, and improvements in baby care rooms too will also be introduced. “We will work towards drastically upgrading the terminals and providing a better experience,” he said.

However, these plans must be approved by the AAI headquarters in New Delhi before they could be implemented, sources said.

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