Luggage had to be manually moved to the aircraft as CAA official says breakdown did not affect flights. PHOTO: FILE
As a result, the airport authorities had to summon loaders to help manually move the luggage to the waiting aircraft.
This is just one of the latest issues to crop up at the airport which opened less than a year ago.
Two conveyor belts in the international departure lounge broke down on Monday as passengers were starting to board flights. This caused difficulties to the airport staff to load the luggage onto the planes.
They had to summon porters and loaders to manually transport the luggage to the apron.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) staff summoned a technical team to fix the problem and get the conveyor belts to start again.
A CAA spokesperson told Daily Express that they immediately started maintenance work to get the belts working again.
The official claimed that the malfunction did not affect the flight schedules.
Built at a cost of over RS80 billion, the newly-constructed airport has seen its share of controversies since its inauguration with several machines and apparatus at the airport breaking down just a few months after its inauguration. The biggest incident in this regard was the collapse of a sky bridge.
Apart from equipment breaking down, the airport lacks the basic facilities such as a filtration plant. As a result, visitors were compelled to purchase water.
Moreover, with sources stating that just nine immigration counters are operational at the airport, it creates problems for local and foreign passengers who have to wait in long queues. This adds to the wait time with the slow transfer of luggage from aircraft to the carrousels.
Visits of federal ministers have also failed to turn around the state of affairs at the airport.
Passengers irked as luggage belts break down at Islamabad airport
A CAA spokesperson stated that they are eager to provide the best services to the people. However, the official added that they have outsourced a number of departments at the airport.
Moreover, the official said that like international airports across the country, they charge a handling and services fees of Rs200 for domestic flights and Rs400 for international flights.
Moreover, the official said that all airlines at the airport have been asked to manage their shift timings after complaints regarding issues with luggage were received.
Explaining the few immigration counters, the CAA spokesperson said that it was the discretion of the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) immigration department to deploy staff at the 40 international and 30 domestic immigration counters.
“The passengers have to bear problems owing to the paucity of staff,” the CAA official conceded, adding that they were aware of the luggage issues at the airport.
The official assured that they were working to resolve these problems.
He added that they have urged the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to adjust their shift timings so that the issue of luggage could be resolved.
Late last year, a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was told that it had taken Rs68 billion more to build the airport than its original estimate.
The Auditor General of Pakistan had told the committee that so far, Rs85.55 billion have been spent on the project and work on the project is stated to be 99 per cent complete.
He added that the first project concept-I for the project was drafted in March 2008, when the cost of the project was estimated at Rs37 billion. The PC-I underwent a review in 2014 when the project cost was revised to Rs81 billion.
It underwent a second review in March 2018, when its cost was revised to Rs105 billion. The project took eight years to complete and cost Rs68 billion more than the original estimate.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2019.
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