Authorities at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport experienced nothing short of a crashlanding when Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel came visiting today. Aghast at the ‘‘flawed’’ operations, the Minister grounded expansion plans and schooled officials on managing what they had before going in for new ventures.Patel, who arrived on a two-day visit to the state, inspected the international and domestic terminals, and went over the expansion plans with officials in the full glare of the media. Then, he went around checking toilets, the upholstery, fans, even the plants in the lounge. ‘‘The toilets are dirty, the furniture is broken, the upholstery has not been cleaned. There is no need for new terminals if we are unable to take care of existing ones. I am not happy with the operations of Ahmedabad airport, there are flaws in every aspect. From catering to security, everthing needs to be altered,’’ the minister fumed.The expansion plans also went for a toss as the minister said the layout was flawed. Officials have been asked to present the plans and designs of the existing and planned terminals in New Delhi. No funds will be released by the Ministry until the plans are approved by a team of experts and engineers in Delhi, he said.The plans did not provide for a direct link between the domestic and the international terminals, the Minister said. Passengers would be inconvenienced by the ‘‘short-sighted project which does not take into account growing needs’’, he said.While construction of a new domestic terminal, with aerobridges, is already at an advanced stage, plans for a new international terminal had been finalised and work was likely to begin in two months. The terminals are expected to cost between Rs 4 and 5 crore each.The minister said he wanted to make Ahmedabad airport a business hub catering to international traffic while the Baroda airport would handle domestic traffic. Except for Mumbai and Delhi, no airport would be privatised, he said, though all airports will be given a facelift. ‘‘They will not be swanky, but simple and comfortable for everyone.’’
