Kolkata Airport To Introduce New Trolleys To Increase Passenger Convenience!

The Kolkata airport handles about 50000 passengers a day. With flights scheduled between 6 AM and midnight, around 2,700 persons either arrive at or depart from the airport per hour.

Luggage trolley is the first thing that a passenger looks for at the airport. At Kolkata airport, finding a trolley has been a problem, especially during busy hours or late at night.

On top of that, Passengers have had to deal with poor customer service at the airport because of which the airport rankings have gone down.

All that Is about to change!

In an effort to improve their rating, the Kolkata airport will be introducing a new set of lighter, faster and sturdier trolleys for the passengers. This set of trolleys is the first batch after the airport’s expansion in 2013.

Here are all the details about the new trolley system being introduced at the airport-

• 1580 new trolleys are being added to the existing 1500 plus trolleys currently at the airport.
• An additional 2,500 new trolleys will be delivered, over the next 2 months
• This will make the tally of new trolleys to 4000, enough to ensure there is no shortage
• In addition, older trolleys are being regularly repaired

This move will make the trolley management easier for the ground staff. With twice the number of trolleys in circulation, there will be enough time for the ground handling staff to retrieve and stack trolleys near the luggage conveyor belts in the arrival level and entry to the terminal at the departure level.

Passengers who used the new trolleys on Tuesday said they were lighter, agile, more spacious and easier to use. Previously the front two wheels of the trolleys moved independently, making it tough for the passenger to move at the airport. This issue has been solved in the trolleys by the front wheels designed in the form of a nose wheel of an aircraft, thus making it easier to manoeuvre.

The new trolleys are being designed by a Mumbai based organisation “Delite Systems Engineering Pvt Ltd”. Here are the salient features of the new trolleys –

• It has a rear wheel cover to prevent apparel such as “Dupattas” or longs scarves getting tangled in them.
• It is lighter than the previous trolleys
• It has a lower luggage platform which will increase the load capacity and make it more spacious
• Front wheels are designed in the shape of an aircraft’s nosewheel, making it agile and easy to move.
• Overall, it has a better design as compared to the old trolleys

With this initiative, almost 5500 trolleys will be available for the passenger at the airport within 2 months. According to the airport director, Mr Atul Dikshit, Once the airport has 4,000 new trolleys and 1,500 old trolleys in circulation, they will deploy around 1,000 trolleys in the old terminal from where Haj flights operate. A few trolleys will be kept in reserve for emergency.

The airport officials are confident that, with this move, the passenger experience will improve, and the ratings of the Kolkata airport will go up. This move will also help the airport management to streamline the trolley system making it easier and smoother for them to handle.