Bhubaneswar, March 13: Authorities of the Biju Patnaik International Airport have set up a committee to look into the grievances of passengers.

The step was taken after a parking lot operator misbehaved with an army personnel and his daughter last week. The victims then lodged a complaint following which the police commissioner took up the issue with the airport director as such incidences have been reported too often.

The development forced the airport authority to issue a showcause notice to the parking lot operator.

If his answers are unsatisfactory, his licence will be cancelled, and the operator will be debarred from taking part in any such bids in any of the airports in the country.

Sources said there were around five such complaints lodged against the operator in the past few months.

An official said the panel would prevent recurrence of such untoward incidents.

However, the showcause notice issued against the parking lot operator has started affecting traffic near the terminal because the managers have started taking a soft stance towards people visiting the airport.

Earlier, vehicles that were coming to pick or drop passengers were forced to leave the terminal within five minutes to avoid paying a fee of Rs 20.

"Visitors have started quarrelling with us on petty issues and often lodged complaints with the police. Now, we do not want to force anyone pay the fee even if they they overstay near the terminal," said a parking lot employee.

Airport director Sharad Kumar said the purpose of maintaining the parking lot was not for making revenues, but to serve people and streamline vehicles near the terminal.

"We had conducted soft skill training for the parking lot employees to teach them how to behave with people. Due to their misbehaviour, we had even penalised them, but things remain the same," said Kumar.

A Bangalore-based firm had won the contract for three years paying around Rs 14 lakh and it had given its franchise to a city-based contractor. The local contractor managed it for around one year.

"In case of an unsatisfactory reply to the notice, we will go for another bidding for six months. We will also try out different ways to avoid such untoward incidents in future. During this period, we will make alternate arrangement," he said.