Hindering passengers' movement
I was travelling from ZIA by GF249/14th January on my way to London, Heathrow via Bahrain. Scheduled departure time of the flight was 2000l.t. The flight was fairly over booked resulting in gradation and adjustment of overflow of passengers. Besides some of the passengers also do report later than 45 minutes before the departure time. So airlines at times do have to close check-in counters late for fear of losing revenue. Moreover, most airlines are cash strapped these days. However at about 1920l.t. when I was being checked in, a group of 5-6 checked-in passengers turned up desperately at the counter after being refused entry at the gate by the airport security staff, under instructions of the shift immigration officer in charge, because of their late reporting. I got startled. The GF traffic officer at first rebuked them for late reporting at the gate but later on pacified them by saying to go back and wait near the gate.
At about 1925l.t. when I reported at the gate, I was also told to hang on by the airport security staff. They assured us that GF staff would manage the shift immigration in charge. At one stage we came to know that immigration authorities had told the GF staff to reschedule the departure time, which of course would have been unethical and a false declaration. However, one of the GF traffic officers rushed near the gate and informed the security staff that the officer in charge immigration had permitted the few remaining passengers to get in, but to our surprise they did not take his words for granted and one of them went back to the immigration office for clarification. Any way, soon he came back and to our relief, all six of us were eventually allowed to pass through immigration.
I suppose there could be only one reason of imposing such uncalled-for and unheard of restrictions i.e., to humble the airline staff or the affected passengers and make them grease their palms. That is how the holders of authority in our part of the world innovate ideas of their own and make people helpless only for their personal gratifications.
May I draw the kind attention of the minister for civil aviation and also of the chairman CAAB through the columns of the print media to address the above anomalies at our prime international airport and protect innocent air travellers from such unwanted miseries created by the authorities. This also tarnishes the image of the administration in the eye of our foreign visitors. They simply raise their eyebrows in astonishment.
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