During the first week of this month, a newspaper reported an incident where a woman passenger on her way to New York slipped and fell down in the security hold area of the IGI airport in New Delhi. The report said the cause of the fall was the depression or unevenness in the floor caused by tiling work in progress. The old floor tiles were being replaced as part of the modernisation of the airport. There was a slight depression in the area where the new ones were yet to be laid.

I quote this case to highlight the lack of safety consciousness at our airports. Today, all our major airports are under renovation. But, obviously, passenger safety is not central to this entire process. Or else an accident such as this would not have happened. If there is a difference in the floor level, there should be boards warning passengers of that. There should be better lighting in the area and a red line or a red adhesive tape along the floor to indicate the difference in floor level. This is a basic precaution that the airport authorities should have taken to prevent passengers from tripping.

Today, the number of senior citizens travelling by air has increased manifold. Airports have to keep this in mind. Secondly, a large percentage of women in the age group of 50 and above suffer from osteoporosis and for such women, a fall could be catastrophic as it could cause multiple fractures. So airport authorities have to keep these factors in mind.

I have also seen that the floor tiles being laid at many airports are extremely slippery. This will not do. The tiles should be slip-proof and safe. The same principle should apply to toilet flooring. Escalators should be maintained well and serviced at regular intervals. There should be adequate lighting near the first step of the escalator. If there is any carpeting anywhere, it should be smooth and without rough edges that could cause passengers to trip and fall. In short, every part of the airport should be designed and constructed in such a way that it is safe — particularly for the elderly and for children. The construction and design should also be such that there are no impediments to people who are in wheelchairs and those who are physically challenged at the entrances of airports or inside.

In fact, those entrusted with the job of upgrading and managing airports should treat the incident involving the woman passenger as a warning and take steps to make airports consumer-friendly.