Devananda Upadhyay, general manager of TIA, said that the major problem is inefficient ground handling as everything is done manually and there are not enough conveyer belts due to space constraints.
To improve the service, TIA installed two air suction baggage lifting systems two weeks back. The systems use air pressure and can help lift luggage pieces of up to 37 kg.
Sanjeev Gautam, director general of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), said, “We have only two conveyer belts in operation as two other belts that have been ordered are stuck at Kolkota.”
The problem of luggage delays has also been aggravated because airlines have reduced the number of passengers and offloaded luggage as they have had to carry extra fuel since September 29.
“While flying in from the United States on November 5, we had four pieces of luggage but only two of these arrived. I called Air India, my last carrier, but it did not have any proper information," said Ashish Gajurel, a transport engineer, adding,"When two airliners arrive at the same time it becomes a catastrophe.”
Bharat Kumar Shrestha, president of Airlines Operators Committee- Nepal (AOC-N), said that the problems in offloading baggage were beyond their control as it was peak season and they had to give priority to passengers. “If migrant workers coming home from Qatar and Saudi Arabia do not fly out before their exit permits expire, they will have to stay in detention and so it is our duty to bring such passengers first and then the luggage,” said Shrestha.
According to him, informing passengers and compensating them for loss is the duty of either the first carrier or the last.
Ashmina Ranjit, another recent passenger, said that while coming from Sri Lanka via Dhaka a few weeks ago, she could not get her luggage. “I went again next day but could not find the luggage anywhere. Finally I found it at the unclaimed luggage section and I was astonished to learn that it had come by Singapore Airlines. Hadn't I gone there again and identified my bags, I suspect I might not have gotten then at all?” Ranjit told Republica. She fingers mismanagement and ignorance on the part of TIA staff as part of the problem.
Shrestha of AOC-N said airlines have signed inter-airline agreements under which they can send the luggage by another airline with cargo space to spare so that the passengers get it faster.
According to AOC-N, the problem of offloading has not occurred these days since most airlines have imposed restrictions since mid-November on the number of passengers as they have to carry extra fuel. On Friday, TIA issued a revised Notice to Airmen (NoTAM) effective till December 31, stating that they are not able to provide aviation turbine fuel from TIA.
Even after the problem of conveyer belts and offloading is solved, passengers will have to wait at least half an hour to 45 minutes to get their baggage. Bishnu Bahadur Thapa, chief immigration officer at TIA, said lack of an Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) which enhances security by prividing immigration officers pre-arrival and departure data on all passengers and airlline crew is also a major problem.
“Due to lack of APIS, we have to investigate whether persons entering our country or exiting are genuine travellers and have all the required documents,” said Thapa.
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