PATNA: Despite registering a bumper growth in passenger traffic, Jayaprakash Narayan International
Airport (JPNI), Patna, dropped 15 places from 58th to 73rd position in the global ranking of airports handling 2-5 million passengers in the fourth quarter of 2017. The deciding factor was the quality of services provided to the passengers.
The rating for overall satisfaction of passengers at Patna airport, based on Airports Service Quality (ASQ) survey done by the Airports Council International (ACI), however, dropped by mere 0.05 points in the fourth quarter of 2017 (October-December).
Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said Patna airport's performance was still good as it was ranked 73rd among 300 airports across the world that fall in the 2-5 million passenger-traffic category. ASQ ratings are benchmarks for airport services globally.
ACI-ASQ Survey is only worldwide programme to survey passengers at airports on their day of travel. Every year, it measures passengers' views on 33 key services parameters and identified services.
Of the 33 parameters, which are used to rate the airports, Patna airport's performance declined in 24 in the fourth quarter. The parameters include parking facilities, waiting time in queues, the efficiency of the check-in staff, courtesy and helpfulness of the airline staff and waiting time at the security check area, among others. Patna airport has, however, scored well in areas like internet access and Wi-Fi, restaurant and eating facilities, cleanliness of bathrooms and toilets, cleanliness of airport terminal and availability of trolleys.
JPNI director Rajendra Singh Lahauria attributed the plunge in ratings in the fourth quarter of the last year to disruption in flight services due to foggy weather in peak winter season.
The existing seating capacity of terminal building at the city airport is around 600 people, including 250 in the visitor area and 350 in the security hold area. However, around 8,000 people used to come to the airport on daily basis, when flights were getting delayed or cancelled due to foggy weather from mid-November to mid-January.
"Heavy rush of passengers at the airport during foggy days led to adverse impact on the service quality provided to passengers. Most parameters on which the ratings have come down are based on behaviour related services of staff of different airlines. We will take corrective measures to ensure improved services to passengers," Lahauria told TOI.
He added, "As far as ranking is concerned, it is a comparative figure and rating of service quality at Patna airport dropped by only 0.05 points in the last quarter. We believe that ranking of several other airports may have improved, which led to drop in Patna airport's ranking. Nonetheless, we are still at 73rd position among 300 airports, which is not that bad, considering the acute space crunch here."
Frequent flyers, however, complained about poor services owing to overcrowding in the terminal building. "The terminal building is jam-packed even when flights operate smoothly. One feels like playing musical chair game, while trying to get a chair in the security hold area. Besides, there are very few check-in counters and gate number is mostly not mentioned in the boarding pass," said Samir Sinha, a native of Patna.
