Flight operation facilities upgraded

Rawalpindi: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has undertaken various projects for the up-gradation of flight operations and passenger safety have been undertaken at Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad (BBIAI) at a cost of Rs660 million.
This was stated by the newly appointed Airport Manager BBIAI, Malik Afsar at a media briefing held at the airport on Monday.
He said that the mega projects of the up-gradation schemes undertaken at the airport during the last six months include, construction of Delta Taxiway, and Fast Track briefing building for International passengers.
He said the Taxiway project was completed at a cost of Rs200 million and would help overcome the problem of waiting-in-air the aircraft, approaching to BBIAI for landing especially during peak hours.
“An airliner will save US$150 per minute if is allowed to land immediately without putting it on hold in the air, which had been a practice prior to construction of taxiway,” he said.
Afsar said that the fast track briefing hall is all meant to provide maximum facilities to the passengers travelling various destinations around the globe.
He said that the parking capacity at the parking lot has been enhanced from 300 to 700 vehicles besides providing digital monitoring and registration of all the entering vehicles to the car parking. A respectable waiting area has been erected alongside the parking lot for the meeters and greeters with accommodation facility of around 2000 people at a time, he added.
He said the concourse hall and other briefing halls have also been upgraded and renovated giving a look of an international airport to the building. He said for the facility of the passengers around three dozen toilets of high quality have been added to the existing facility at the airport.
Answering a question regarding collection of enhanced fee from the passengers he said, the CAA had notified this enhancement back in June 2015 but the negligence of a few airlines staff this inconvenience is being faced by the outgoing passengers.”In most of the cases of fee collection, I personally give waiver to the passengers on cases to case basis with an ultimate aim to avoid inconvenience to them.”
In reply to another question he said that BBIAI management has sent the case to CAA for withdrawal of Rs20 fee from the meters and greeters at the airport. “We had sent the case for withdrawal of fee some time back but decision on this issue is still awaited,” he added.