Relief, finally: Kolkata airport mends design flaw, set to get restrooms on arrival entry level

KOLKATA: After more than a decade of clenched jaws and frantic corridor dashes, relief is finally in sight for flyers landing in Kolkata as the city's airport is set to rectify one of its most complained-about design flaws - the absence of restrooms on the upper arrival level.

This is the area where flyers enter on exiting the aerobridge.The first of three much-needed toilet blocks in the arrival corridor on the upper level, where arriving passengers alight from the aircraft to enter the domestic terminal via aerobridges, is almost ready and is set to be opened this month. Once functional, the toilet block will provide relief to exhausted passengers who currently have to scramble to the lower arrival level, past the entire length of the luggage belt and beyond, to reach the restrooms.The other two blocks will be ready by March, airport officials said.The new restrooms will address a design flaw in Kolkata airport's integrated terminal that has inconvenienced incoming passengers for a dozen years. The terminal was inaugurated in Jan 2013 and became functional in March that year.Authorities said that 90% of work is complete on one of the three pairs of toilets for women, men and the disabled at the upper arrival concourse while about 65% of work is complete for the other two facilities.

The three restrooms will cater to passengers stepping into the terminal through 11 arrival gates on the upper floor - 14 to 25. On the lower arrival level, five additional toilet blocks will be set up.A frequent flyer said: "At present, restrooms seem to take an eternity to locate for those in urgent need to relieve themselves at the end of a long flight. The new toilets will be a boon for flyers. They should have come up much earlier." Crew restrict access to aircraft restrooms almost 20 minutes before touchdown.Though the distance between the aerobridge and the baggage conveyor belts in Kolkata is the shortest among airports in metro cities, the location of toilets is the farthest upon landing among other airports.For years, the mismatch between convenience and necessity has been a sore point for passengers landing in the city. Flyers recount anxious minutes spent speed-walking through corridors with cabin bags in tow, hoping to spot a restroom sign before discomfort turns into distress."After two-and-a-half-hour flight from Delhi, those last 15 minutes feel endless," said Dwaipayan Roy, who frequently travels between the two cities.Passengers say the absence of such facilities on the upper arrival level in Kolkata has often triggered chaos and frayed tempers. "You see people almost jogging, some elderly, some with children, all asking the same question - 'toilet kothay?'" said Rishwav Mondal, a third-year college student. The airport is already addressing the stink and stain issue in restrooms by revamping the toilets in the terminal and then undertaking a deep cleaning of each toilet at regular intervals. The toilets are practically being demolished and fresh ones constructed with new floor and wall tiles, sanitary ware and fixtures.