Fliers arriving at or leaving through Calcutta airport with oversized or oddly shaped baggage have to spend extra minutes waiting for a porter to bring or deposit the item because the terminal doesn't have conveyor belts for non-standard cargo.
On some days, an inbound passenger has to wait up to an hour to receive such a piece of baggage, which could be a golf kit, a sitar or a pet cage.
The lack of out-of-gauge belts for baggage whose size or shape don't conform to standard dimensions is, of course, just one of many passenger facilities that the integrated terminal doesn't have. In the aviation industry, out-of-gauge belts are considered a basic requirement for any modern terminal. Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore airports have such conveyor belts. So does Kuala Lumpur International Airport's "low-cost" Terminal 2.
In Calcutta, there is signage at all international check-in counters asking passengers not to keep oversized baggage on the conveyor belt. "Do not put odd shape/size baggage directly on conveyor belt. Use baggage tubs or manually transfer the baggage to basement using goods lift," says one such sign.
A doctor who had travelled with his family to Mauritius during Durga Puja was surprised on being told at the check-in counter that his golf bag couldn't be put on the conveyor belt because of its shape. "The airline executive said I would need to wait for a porter to carry my kit to the basement. In most other airports such as the one in Mumbai, I just need to drop such baggage on the special belt," recounted dermatologist Sachin Varma.
Gaurav Ghosh, council member of the Indian Golf Union, said the possibility of golf kits being mishandled while being manually moved at the airport was a cause of "psychological stress".
"In Delhi, there is a separate belt for oversized luggage. You just collect your regular luggage and then the oversized one. It's so much more convenient. Plus, there's the psychological thing of not knowing how your luggage is being treated. There are chances of breakage," he said.
According to Indrajit Bhalotia, director of the ProtouchGolf Academy, golfers normally carry a set weighing 12kg. The bag is around 4.5ft in length and little over a foot in width.
Not just golfers, even musicians worry about arriving at or flying out of Calcutta with their equipment. Guitarist Vikramjit "Tuki" Banerjee said he had been made to wait longer than other passengers for his baggage to arrive on a couple of occasions.
"Calcutta airport has a huge logistics issue with handling oversized baggage as it arrives separately in a trolley, pushed by airline staff almost 45 minutes after everyone else has already received their baggage from the carousel," he said.
According to Vikramjit, most musicians visiting the city from Mumbai and Delhi have complained of poor logistics management at the airport, especially baggage handling. "It takes forever for the airline staff to appear with oversized luggage," he said.
Representatives of various airlines said they were used to such complaints. "Passengers often blame us for the delay in receiving baggage, although this is a facility the airport should provide. We have raised it with the airport authorities so many times but little has changed," said an official of a low-cost airline.
The integrated terminal in Calcutta opened almost three years ago but still doesn't have an inline baggage scanning system, a standard feature in airports of comparable size. An out-of-gauge belt is considered just as necessary.
Belts built for oversized and oddly shaped baggage are fitted with an X-ray machine that is larger than the one used in a normal conveyor. Usually, one belt is shared by multiple airlines. A passenger carrying an oversized bag needs to carry it to the special belt and deposit it there immediately after checking in at the airline counter. The belt carries the bag to the hold from where it is loaded onto the aircraft.
Engineers say an out-of-gauge belt not only helps in safely transferring non-standard cargo but also ensures that a normal conveyor belt doesn't stall because of a large bag.
But try telling that to the state-run Airports Authority of India, which runs Calcutta airport. Asked why the integrated terminal doesn't have an out-of-gauge belt, an official said: "There is no demand."
And do you plan to install one at any time? "Why should we? There is hardly any demand. The number of passengers using the facility doesn't even constitute a tiny percentage," the official said.
Mumbai airport has four out-of-gauge baggage belts, two of these in the old Terminal I. The other two, both "super out-of-gauge baggage belts" are in the new Terminal II. Terminal I has had belts for oversized baggage since 2008.
A super out-of-gauge belt is meant for extra-large check-in baggage such as a cage for a pet.
An official at Mumbai airport said it shouldn't matter that most passengers don't carry oversized or oddly shaped baggage. "This is one of the facilities that any airport calling itself international should have."
Cities across the world have airports run by private operators who hire skilled professionals to plan, build and manage infrastructure and add-ons - from boarding bridges to washrooms, retail and food outlets to entertainment.
Singapore's Changi airport has a swimming pool, movie theatres and a spa to keep passengers occupied during long transit periods.
At Calcutta airport, a passenger still has to stand in a queue to get registered luggage scanned and tip a porter to carry an oversized baggage.
The airport's failure to provide the basics has apparently dented the city's image further. "The airport is one of the reasons why Calcutta can't think of hosting a major event," said the CEO of an event management company.
Have you faced a problem with oversized baggage at the airport? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com