‘Too little space!’, ‘Unpalatable food!’, and ‘Unreliable WiFi!’. In the last few days, several flyers from Pune Airport have taken to social media to express their frustration over many issues prevailing at the only passenger lounge at the airport. One passenger, in fact, alleged that he suffered from food poisoning after consuming a meal at the lounge buffet. Passengers, however, can hope to see a ‘marked improvement’ in the situation as the new terminal building, which is awaiting a regulatory nod to commence operations, will not only add the number of lounges but will also be better managed, airport officials have said. “In the present building, we have only one passenger lounge due to a shortage of space. In the new and expanded terminal building, there are a total of five lounges, of which three will serve domestic passengers and two for international flyers,” Santosh Dhoke, Pune Airport Director, told The Indian Express. He said that these lounges will also be better managed with improved service quality as reputed contractors have been awarded the responsibility to run them. “Passengers will see a marked improvement in service. It will be equivalent to the service being provided at Delhi and Mumbai airports,” said Dhoke. The new terminal building, which has been built at Rs 475 crore, will also improve the passenger experience outside the lounges with the addition of food and beverage outlets and retail shops in the general area. “About 12-15 new food outlets will come up on the 831.1 square meter cumulative area. The new building will also have 12-15 retail outlets so that passengers can shop as they await boarding,” he said, adding that the outlets are presently being built and will be ready within a fortnight. “We have asked the vendors to bring in multinational brands,” said Dhoke. But how long will the Pune passengers have to wait to start flying from the new terminal building? “The only thing that is awaited is a nod from the regulatory body. Once we get that, we will immediately commence the operation. We hope that will happen by the end of this month,” said Dhoke.
