Kolkata: Prodded by repeated complaints about damaged, unclean and poor quality of seats — especially in the security hold area — Kolkata airport authorities are in the process of replacing 50% of its total seating capacity with new and more spacious chairs. These will have a better backrest. They will be placed in such a manner that more leg space is left for passengers.
Airport officials said they undertook multiple surveys to find out the problems that ail passengers at the airport and responded to the same with the changes they sought.
“We had seen many complaints regarding the seats on social media. So as of now we are replacing 50% of all the existing seats. The rest will also be replaced soon,” said Pravat Ranjan Beuria, the director of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport.
Airport seating arrangements are designed to adhere to a worldwide standard, featuring sets of three chairs connected and divided by armrests. These seats are securely fastened to the ground, serving a specific purpose: to actively dissuade passengers from engaging in social interactions and instead encourage them to visit commercial areas within the airport, such as retail stores and cafes. The strategic placement of these modular seat units in a parallel configuration further reduces the likelihood of face-to-face encounters between passengers. This layout aims to create a less intimidating environment for individuals, who are unfamiliar with one another.
According to sources, the three-seater chairs next to boarding gates 14 to 25 in the domestic passenger lounge were replaced. While all 107 such chairs were changed next to gate numbers 21 and 22, only 12 three-seater chairs next to gate numbers 16 and 17 were replaced, leaving the others intact.
“The airport security hold area has a total seating capacity to accommodate 4,860 passengers. In total, we have purchased 810 new three-seater chairs at a cost of Rs 3.2 crore. They can accommodate 2,430 passengers. Out of the lot, 448 three chair seats have already been replaced,” said Beuria, adding that the chairs had not been replaced since the new terminal had come up in 2013.
Anindya Dey, a frequent flier, had posted earlier on X: “Wish Kolkata airport was better maintained. Seats dirty bathroom smelly.. very repulsive”. Another passenger, Najmus Sayadat, had posted a photograph of a dirty chair last year and had written on X while tagging the airport authorities: “Why can’t we have better clean seats at the airport?”
The recent survey on airport service quality conducted by Airports Council International (ACI), the trade association of the world’s airports, the city airport had fared poorly on ‘comfort of waiting at the gate areas’ and ‘availability of seats’ there.