Airport vows winter warmth
2 min read
Patna: The Patna airport administration has decided to take several measures this winter to prevent a repeat of last year when hundreds of passengers had to wait for their flights sitting in the open, biting cold.
“Keeping in view that the new airport will be built by 2021, we have decided to take several measures this winter to make passengers’ travel a smooth affair,” Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport director Rajendra Singh Lahauria said. “We have decided to build two more parking bays, to be completed before November, in addition to the current four. Also, there are three security screening checkpoints at Patna airport, which will be increased to five by winter.”
The measures will be in place before the onset of fog in November, Lahauria said.
Besides, as flight timings get limited owing to the fog during winter, number of passengers goes up tremendously at specific hours. To cope with this, the airport administration has decided to build German hangars or pre-fab structures to accommodate 1,000 passengers.
The temporary structure is being built using porta (portable) cabins. That means once expansion work of Patna airport is completed in three years, those will be removed. The fabricated structure will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 2.7 crore.” Lahauria said.
Once the fabricated structure is completed, the capacity of security hold area is expected to double.
At a recent meeting between Lahauria and Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor, it was decided to build a road in the southern part of the airport for police patrolling. During the meeting, divisional commissioner Kishor directed the executive engineer of road construction department to make an estimate so that a walkable road can be built for police patrolling.
Lahauria said passenger capacity at Patna airport had tripled in the past five years. “Thirty one lakh passengers used the airport during 2017-18,” he said adding: “Right now, 45 aircrafts are being handled daily at Patna airport.”
Courtesy: The Telegraph
