Editorial
Luggage handling hiccups at the airport
Modernising is the answer
Hazrat Shajalal International Airport, which has by no means an enviable record of passenger service, is now an even bigger source of anxiety to the incoming passengers. By one count, at least 30 of them have to leave the airport every day without their luggage after filing complaints with the airport authorities. Loss of luggage, which unlucky passengers used to face occasionally in the past, has become a regular feature of the apparently inept and manifestly corrupt luggage handling system at the country's biggest airport.
The problem seems to be even more acute when it comes to our own national carrier -- Biman. It is disgusting to note that two to five Biman passengers lose their luggage every day! Have the Biman or civil aviation authorities ever bothered to work out what it means in terms of harassment to the passengers landing after long flights? A passenger waiting for a long time near the conveyor belt finally discovers that his suitcase or bag is missing, or in some cases, found to have been opened or emptied! They lodge a complaint and come out of the airport totally dejected.
The airport authorities have tried to defend themselves through pointing out a number of constraints and limitations besetting the system. For instance, they point out that transit airports in the Middle East have started opening luggage to ensure better security which leaves it a little disheveled and exposed. This is an issue which should be settled within the framework of international air transport rules.
However, one can hardly overlook the fact that our own aviation experts believe that the airport is still using outdated equipment and methods for luggage handling. There is, they feel , the need for introducing the computerized baggage handling system to eliminate human errors and corrupt practices. The decision makers have to attach due importance to the matter if they are really embarrassed by the vanishing or pried open luggages.
Whatever might be the loopholes, it is hard to ignore the plain truth that a section of the airport staff is not honest or efficient enough to deliver the accompanying luggage to the passengers without any hassle. So, the emphasis should be on deploying well-trained and positively motivated personnel to serve the passengers at the conveyor belt. The civil aviation authorities have to act, instead of glibly repeating what they are planning to do for the passengers. The fact cannot be lost on all concerned that the quality of service delivered at the country's premier international airport adversely reflects on its reputation, something we can ill-afford.
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