Jan 03, 2023 12:42 AM
1073 Views
(Updated Jan 03, 2023 12:43 AM)
It is a known fact that most international flights arrive around midnight to India. Passengers are tired and sleepy after long international flights.
I travelled to Mumbai Airport in early December 2022 and was shocked to see only a few immigration counters open. I stood in the queue for about 2 hours and so did many others. All the lines were long, whether it was for Indian passport holders or international passport holders/ Business class passengers. Everyone was at the mercy of the authorities.
I have travelled the world and used other international airports in India as well but haven't seen such long lines anywhere else. Maximum time in waiting has not exceeded beyond half an hour. The same thing happened when I was leaving the airport. One of the counters there were two staff members chitchatting idly while passengers waited patiently for them to start working!
There is no system of checking boarding time on boarding pass before allowing passengers to stand in line. There are plenty of staff members just hanging out idly who could be utilized for this but every passenger was blindly asked to join the serpentine lines!
If people with later boarding times were in the line ahead of you, you just waited for them to finally complete the formalities. When I complained as my boarding time had only 10 minutes remaining, they allowed me to come ahead. When I complained about the lack of streamlining passengers and the inadequate functioning counters, I was asked to complain about it online.
The staff said they have to deal with the large number of passengers night after night and are burned out. They need more staff at immigration counters and would need the word to get out so that higher authorities can pay attention to their plight! I was worried that India had created a bad impression even before international travelers had a chance to leave the airport.
I hope the Airport authorities will pay attention to this very important issue in the International Airport. Just designing a beautiful structure is not adequate.
In the women's restroom there was no paper towel and a lady was handing out toilet paper in lieu of paper towels! I wish, instead of spending crores on statues, basic amenities like paper towels were available. If paper towel is not possible, install an electric hand dryer, instead of inappropriate options like handing out bits of toilet paper! I can assure you that this will stay forever in the memories of passengers as a negative experience.
