Kolkata: The city airport is planning to reintroduce paid porter service to help elderly and infirm passengers reclaim luggage from the carousel and carry them to cars or cabs against a fee.
Paid porter service was available at airport till 2019. Passengers have complained about being fleeced by trolley retrievers impersonating as passenger assistance staff and demanded the reintroduction of a transparent paid service. The airport had floated a tender last year but did not receive a favourable response as footfall that had dipped after Covid was still on a revival path.
“We are trying to reintroduce the service. We had floated a tender last year but couldn’t find a taker. Now that there has been a significant improvement in passenger count, many are demanding the service revival,” said a senior official of Kolkata airport.
Paid porterage service is available at several privately managed airports in the country and is a facility that is appreciated mostly by elderly flyers and those travelling to the country from abroad with a large number of baggage.
Before the service was halted, for a flat fee of Rs 300, the paid porters used to fetch trolleys, place checked-in baggage on them, wheel them till the baggage scanners before check-in. In addition to trolley pushing service, arriving passengers also used to get assistance in hailing cabs or making hotel bookings.
Officials said the agency that will bag the tender to supply paid porters will be allotted counters on the airport premises and will be functional throughout the operational hours of the Airport.
“The licensees will assist in clearing airport formalities and guide flyers to check-in and immigration counters; provide porterage services to the unaccompanied minors, elderly, sick and physically challenged passengers; provide assistance for hiring car, taxi, hotel booking arranging tickets, transportation from aircraft to the terminal building and assist in reservation and purchase of tickets,” said an official.
As per rules, the agency can only utilize facilities available at the airport like food and beverages from airport stalls and Yatri Sathi taxi services and other app-cab service available on the premises for their clients and cannot hire cars from outside. “The porterage service can be booked beforehand over online booking services alongside booking directly from the airport,” the official said.
To prevent touts masquerading as paid porters, the airport has given strict instructions to the agency not to keep their staff standing at departure-drop area with trolleys.
Officials added any complaint against the staff will be dealt seriously and a penalty of Rs 10,000 per violation will be imposed besides other actions as envisaged in the agreement. The licensees should be well-trained, fluent in English, Hindi and Bengali and well-groomed persons with pleasing personalities.
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