The queue in the domestic terminal of the city airport is set to grow lengthier on the Puja days

Turn up hours in advance to catch a domestic flight during Puja 2011 as the festive rush is set to make the terminal (even) more chaotic.

A plan to decongest the domestic terminal is yet to take off as two private airlines have been refusing for over two months to shift part of their operations to a makeshift terminal in order to curb costs.

The authorities had planned to relocate ATR (small aircraft) operations to the makeshift or secondary terminal, set up in a discarded arrival lounge and opened on July 25, in an attempt to decongest the domestic terminal.

But of the three airlines that operate ATRs from Calcutta, only Air India has shifted to the new terminal. Jet Airways and Kingfisher are still using the old one. Air India operates four and the two private airlines around 20 ATR flights daily on an average.

Thanks to the refusal of the two airlines to shift, the domestic terminal is as congested and chaotic as it was, with fliers suffering long queues, shortage of trolleys and unclean toilets.

Metro has repeatedly highlighted the plight of the passengers, who have to stand at least 30 minutes in a queue at the security check-in counter. The queues at the check-in and security-check counters often merge, triggering confusion and forcing airlines to delay departures.

Airport officials fear the situation would only worsen once the footfall jumps during Puja. “The domestic terminal now handles around 11,000 passengers daily. If the footfall crosses 14,000, as is expected during the festive season, there is bound to be chaos,” said an airport official.

“We had opened the new terminal for ATR operations. But Jet Airways and Kingfisher are yet to shift there. I have spoken to officials of the airlines. They are working on a plan,” said airport director B.P. Sharma.

Jet and Kingfisher officials said operating ATRs from the makeshift terminal would lead to a 10 per cent increase in the operation cost. “We’ll require more manpower to start functioning out of the new terminal. Besides, new software will have to be installed. It would have made sense to operate bigger aircraft from there,” said an official of one of the two airlines who did not want to be identified.

The additional personnel, he pointed out, will be deployed for baggage handling, at the check-in counters and for passenger assistance in the security hold.

Switching terminals may also inconvenience fliers as the authorities are yet to set up adequate signage to guide them to the new facility. “Only a small signboard on the arrival road informs a passenger about the makeshift terminal,” said the official.

The secondary terminal, at the far end of the international terminal, is spread across 10,000sq ft and has five check-in counters and two X-ray machines. Officials said it could handle around 2,000 passengers. Go Air, scheduled to start an Airbus service to Port Blair and Delhi from Calcutta on October 8, will operate from the makeshift terminal, director Sharma said.