Mangalore's Bajpe Airport lacks infrastructure for international service

Ever wondered why the international flight, Air India Express Boeing 737-800, from Dubai lands at the Bajpe airport at 7 pm, not before that? The domestic carriers, which operate flights from 10 am till 5 pm, have lodged protests not to schedule the international flight earlier due to infrastructure constraints at the airport.

In the absence of a separate terminal building for international operations, it would have meant endless delays for domestic passengers till the international passenger traffic was cleared by customs and the immigration. Normally, in airports where domestic and international flights are handled together, the arrival/departure halls are separate and spacious to segregate the domestic and international lot. What is compounding the problem of the operators here is the present infrastructure at the airport.

The space for passengers is limited as the recently set up immigration counter has reduced the available space. For example, the restaurant can now house only 30, as half its space is reduced due to the immigration counter. In case both domestic and international flights have to be handled simultaneously, there will be a minimum of 300 passengers packed inside the airport premises, which has sufficient space to accommodate 200. The normal process for an international passenger is to arrive at the departure hall three hours in advance, after which baggage is checked in followed by a check-in at the airline counter.

Then the passenger will proceed towards immigration counter, finish the customs declaration and finally be frisked in the security hold area before boarding the aircraft. Now, the airport authorities are trying to circumvent this problem trying to demarcate separate areas for domestic and international passengers till the new arrival hall is built a few metres away. But this proposal to allow domestic passengers during the international check-in at the same terminal has to be cleared by the customs, immigration and the police department. The new arrival hall, which can accommodate in excess of 200 passengers, is being currently built where the canteen was housed. This will be completed by April next year. Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is expediting work for the new terminal building near Dakkan Park. This is expected to take at least two years for completion.

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