Amir Karim Tantray
Tribune News Service
Jammu, August 30
The Jammu airport seems to have been forgotten by the state and the Central governments as the facilities for the passengers are not up to the mark.
The front portion and the arrival lounge of the airport are also not up to standard.
Over the years, the only changes that the state government has made at the airport is that it has separated the entry and exit gates.
There are no chairs and a VIP zone at the arrival lounge. The departure area, however, has a separate VIP lounge.
Situated in the Satwari area of Jammu city, the Jammu airport is considered one of the smallest airports in the country.
However, it remains busy in hosting VIPs from other parts of the country.
On August 26, when Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited Jammu, he had to take breakfast at a restaurant in the departure area as there is no such provision in the arrival area of the airport.
Being a high-profile airport, VIPs such as the Chief Minister, Union Ministers and leaders of national parties are regular visitors.
“On arrival at the airport, the VIPs prefer to sit in their cars in the runway area in the absence of a separate VIP lounge. If that is not possible, police officers hurriedly escort them to the parking area before the arrival of other passengers,” said a security official posted at the airport.
The VIPs carry their luggage inside the plane as handbag so that they do not have to wait for the luggage on arrival at the airport.
In case passengers of two flights arrive within 10 minutes of each other, the lounge gets jam-packed. There is no sitting arrangement in the lounge and people have to stand till their luggage reaches the arrival area.