KOCHI, Aug. 30 -- The close shave for the passengers and crew of Bahrain-Kochi Gulf Air flight at the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery on Monday, exposes the lack of professionalism of the airport authorities in handling such a situation.
The disaster management system went haywire with the people venting their ire at the staff.
There was no one to counsel the panicked passengers. Neither was there any announcement to help those who had come to receive their kin from the airport.
The worst affected were the passengers of Gulf Air, Emirates and Kuwait airways as the airport was closed for their operation. The three airlines were bigger ones compared to the others and needed at least 3,600 metres of runway for operation.
The passengers and their kin had no information about the help desk started by the airport to guide the affected people. People were stranded without immediate help from the airliners for arranging the boarding and lodging of those travelling in the flights which had to be rescheduled.
The situation turned worse when a large number of passengers, including those planning to travel to various locations in these flights, had a near fisticuffs with the airport staff as they were upset over the rescheduling of the flights.
In a clear case of passing the buck, the airport authorities said it was the responsibility of the airline companies to arrange accommodation and food. Published by HT Syndication with permission from New Indian Express. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at [email protected]
