Before I say anything, let me take this opportunity to thank each one of you who visit this page and read the posts once in a while. Big thanks for being part of this very calm space. There have been days when I craved to pen down something and yet could not do so. I feel quite upbeat when someone such as you still come and read pieces such as this. It is indeed a very special community where words are the only medium which ties us together. Raise a toast to blogosphere!
Encouraged by couple of posts on “the bliss of India airports” by one of the great bloggers, I am tempted to (in fact taking liberty to) rank few of the best and worst airports in India as far as passengers and baggage handling is concerned. It took me so long to realize that passengers also need safe and polite handling. Well, if I had to rank our airports three years ago, best airport award would have perhaps gone to an airport like Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi or Raja Bhoj Airport in Bhopal for the sheer size of the operations. Any airport handling more than two thousand passengers and seven flights a day would have been vying for a spot in worst airport category then. But as they say change is the only permanent thing in life and so life has changed at airports too.
Having taken approx 250 flights in past 36 months, it is a challenge for me to rate the best of the airports in the country. Hence, to help my cause, I am discounting all the tier C cities’ airports which are still in developing stage and where still it take 20 minutes to reach the airport from the city. Though I have been to new airport of Bengaluru only once, I could feel the difference as compared to torturing experience of erstwhile airport at Marathalli. The facilities were really good and on the contrary, security guard was able to locate my name on the ticket very easily. Considering my limited exposure to the new airport, I would rate this as no. 3 in the best category.
If you happen to be from Bengaluru, please forgive me for being biased towards the city where I live now. Not so long ago, Delhi airport was one of the worst airports. Long queue at the main gate of terminal 1B on a winter morning was one horrible experience. Thank God – CWG brought much needed sanity at Indira Gandhi Airport. Facilities have improved drastically and hassles have gone down significantly with onset of first terminal 1D and now terminal 3. The jam at drop off point in the peak hours is a drawback of otherwise a very very modern airport. For the scale of operations and traffic loads, Delhi airport can be rated as no. 2 in the best category.
No prize for guessing the best airport I have come across within Indian Territory. For a very pleasant experience of entry, check-in, security check and boarding procedures offered at Hyderabad, Rajiv Gandhi Airport is the best Indian Airport in my opinion. Once inside the airport, you can enjoy outstanding eating and shopping stalls. Usage of aerobridges is at its best here. Traffic congestion has nothing to do with Hyderabad air space. You have 3 check points as against 7 of many other airports. State of the art infrastructure makes it truly nice place to fly from.
P.S. - If this was about the best, wait for the worst. Readers are highly encouraged to express their individual opinion on the matter.
Encouraged by couple of posts on “the bliss of India airports” by one of the great bloggers, I am tempted to (in fact taking liberty to) rank few of the best and worst airports in India as far as passengers and baggage handling is concerned. It took me so long to realize that passengers also need safe and polite handling. Well, if I had to rank our airports three years ago, best airport award would have perhaps gone to an airport like Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi or Raja Bhoj Airport in Bhopal for the sheer size of the operations. Any airport handling more than two thousand passengers and seven flights a day would have been vying for a spot in worst airport category then. But as they say change is the only permanent thing in life and so life has changed at airports too.
Having taken approx 250 flights in past 36 months, it is a challenge for me to rate the best of the airports in the country. Hence, to help my cause, I am discounting all the tier C cities’ airports which are still in developing stage and where still it take 20 minutes to reach the airport from the city. Though I have been to new airport of Bengaluru only once, I could feel the difference as compared to torturing experience of erstwhile airport at Marathalli. The facilities were really good and on the contrary, security guard was able to locate my name on the ticket very easily. Considering my limited exposure to the new airport, I would rate this as no. 3 in the best category.
If you happen to be from Bengaluru, please forgive me for being biased towards the city where I live now. Not so long ago, Delhi airport was one of the worst airports. Long queue at the main gate of terminal 1B on a winter morning was one horrible experience. Thank God – CWG brought much needed sanity at Indira Gandhi Airport. Facilities have improved drastically and hassles have gone down significantly with onset of first terminal 1D and now terminal 3. The jam at drop off point in the peak hours is a drawback of otherwise a very very modern airport. For the scale of operations and traffic loads, Delhi airport can be rated as no. 2 in the best category.
No prize for guessing the best airport I have come across within Indian Territory. For a very pleasant experience of entry, check-in, security check and boarding procedures offered at Hyderabad, Rajiv Gandhi Airport is the best Indian Airport in my opinion. Once inside the airport, you can enjoy outstanding eating and shopping stalls. Usage of aerobridges is at its best here. Traffic congestion has nothing to do with Hyderabad air space. You have 3 check points as against 7 of many other airports. State of the art infrastructure makes it truly nice place to fly from.
P.S. - If this was about the best, wait for the worst. Readers are highly encouraged to express their individual opinion on the matter.
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2 comments:
Completely agree with your ranking; probably Mumbai domestic would qualify as 4th,
Just goes to show how overdue it was to have revamped airports and how we should not wait for a total breakdown before upgrading.
Without a doubt, the worst airport has to be Chennai. Although I was old enough to have seen the last renovation and how for a while it was easily the best in the land. Another example of oversleeping before realising the need to upgrade.
@ Ramesh - Yes, Mumbai domestic is also quite good. Infact I thought of Mumbai as 3rd only but somehow went with Bengaluru.
There are pressing needs of having airports revamped. Kolkata is one such example. It is utter chaos in Kolkata these days and it comes very close to being worst in place of Chennai. All in all, these two easily qualify as worst two.
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