Hiccups, complaints galore as Rajkot International Airport starts operations

The interim terminal, a huge German tent, was at the centre of a controversy only two days after it began operations as popular Gujarati author Jay Vasavada shared videos on social media on September 12, comparing it to “a makeshift cardboard-box setup either for a festival or a Covid-19 hospital.”

In the video, he complained about the toilet blocks having no running water. Vasavada’s post opened floodgates of complaints on social media. In an apparent attempt to counter the social media chatter, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) began posting positive reviews from passengers on microblogging platform X, formerly Twitter.

In a purported response to Vasavada, Gujarat BJP vice-president Bharat Boghra, on September 14, took to X stating that the terminal was a “temporary” one. He also underscored the importance of the airport for Saurashtra.

RIA, a greenfield airport, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27. Built at Rs 1,405 crore, the airport is 30 kms east of Rajkot on National Highway 27 as the existing airport on Jamnagar Road in the heart of Rajkot city could not be expanded due to a nearby railway line and residential zones.

However, AAI operationalised the new airport on September 10 by starting operations from the interim passenger terminal. From that day, AAI has been operating an average of nine scheduled flights and around 3,000 passengers per day. The Air Traffic Control tower functions out of the fire station and the airport director works out of the Motor Transport building for now.

“I have uploaded this video as I felt it to be my duty to ensure that there are no misgivings (about the airport)… When a debate has been initiated about Rajkot International Airport, which was inaugurated by Narendra Modi, I want to inform the public that the present terminal of this international airport is a temporary terminal,” Boghra says in the video shot outside the terminal, adding that international flights will begin after April.

“Only after I posted that video, a few people called me and specified that it was a temporary terminal. There are also not enough sign boards on the National Highway to direct people to the airport,” Vasavada told The Indian Express.

Airport director Diganta Borah, however, felt the authorities erred by not underlining enough before the inauguration that operations were beginning from the interim terminal. On the water disruption at the terminal, he said, “It was a temporary disruption for about one-and-a-half hours after a pipeline burst.”

However, hours after Boghra’s video surfaced, VP Vaishnav, president of Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry told mediapersons, “Anything which causes inconvenience to common passengers cannot be acceptable in any circumstances. The complaints that are coming in this situation do have substance in them and they should be addressed immediately… Passengers who spend so much money on purchasing tickets should get these facilities”.

As the debate raged on, Rajkot Rajya Sabha MP Ram Mokariya posted a video of him drinking from a water cooler in the interim terminal building on September 15. “I reviewed arrangements at Rajkot International Airport. I have given suggestions to officers of the airports authority so that passengers don’t face any hardships,” he posted on social media.

However, passengers that The Indian Express spoke with felt the airport could have been better. “They are calling this an international airport but in no sense of the phrase does this look like one. Do you find piles of paving blocks in front of the boarding gate of any airport,” asked Pankaj Patel, a businessman who was to fly to Mumbai, as he pointed to a stack of blocks near the gate and compared the airport to a “bus port”.

“They could have continued to operate flights from the old airport for six more months to allow completion of basic civil work here,” he added.

Shreya Padhiyar, a Rajkot native on the way to Mumbai and who runs a business in Dubai, said, “I am boarding a flight from this new airport for the first time and it’s a disaster”.

The interim terminal has eight check-in-counters, five body scanners and 240 seats in the waiting area. Director Borah said these figures were respectively six, two and 121 at the old airport. The peak passenger handling capacity of the interim terminal is 400 passengers per hour which, Borah says, is double the old airport.

He added that the terminal building, which is being constructed at the cost of Rs 279 crore, will have 36 check-in counters and the capacity to handle 2,800 passengers per hour and will be completed by March next year. “Once that building becomes operational, the interim terminal building will be converted into a cargo terminal,” he said.

The director added that 2,300 square metres (sqm) is being added to the existing 1,500 sqm parking area. “In the old airport, someone would come and drop the travellers and then drive away. Therefore, hardly any parking space was required. But here, after operations began, we realised that people will come driving their vehicles and park them at the airport for a long time”.

Borah rejected suggestions that AAI was under pressure to shift operations to the new terminal. “While the interim terminal is a temporary arrangement, it is still better than the one at the old airport. Something is better than nothing,” Borah said, adding, “It is difficult to start handling international flights from day one after shifting operations from a domestic airport to a new airport,” he said.