Kolkata: From Wi-Fi glitches and DigiYatra snags to unclean washrooms, baggage delays and over-steeped tea, flyers moving through Kolkata Airport can now flag service lapses in real time. In a major push towards dynamic grievance redressal, the city airport has set up prominent digital standees equipped with QR codes across its domestic and international terminals, allowing passengers to immediately rate amenities and report inconveniences.




By scanning the code, flyers are directed to an online survey portal where they can evaluate multiple operational touchpoints, ranging from check-in, security screening and boarding gates to retail, parking and immigration. Crucially, the platform enables travellers to snap photographs of specific problem areas and upload them directly with their complaints, all while retaining complete anonymity.




The system breaks down services into specific heads. Under immigration, passengers can assess queue wait times, counter staff and e-gates. The washroom segment prompts inputs on water availability, hygiene and hand dryers, while the Wi-Fi section addresses OTP hassles and dropped connections. Flyer feedback is also tracked across DigiYatra biometric corridors, boarding announcements, charging points and wheelchair assistance.




“The objective is to fix operational lapses while the passenger is still inside the terminal, rather than waiting for formal post-travel reviews,” a senior airport official said. “When a flyer flags a choked washroom or a faulty charging kiosk with an uploaded photo, the alert is immediately routed to the maintenance team on duty for rapid resolution.”




Another airport official noted that proactive accountability is essential to sustain service momentum. “We want raw, unfiltered ground data. Enabling anonymous submissions with visual evidence eliminates hesitancy and gives us a clear operational picture across every shift,” the official added.




The digital grievance drive comes on the back of marked gains for Kolkata airport in the latest quarterly Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey conducted by Airports Council International (ACI), where it logged improved ratings in 26 of 31 parameters, particularly in immigration flow and washroom upkeep. However, flyers have continued to flag persistent peeve points, notably spotty terminal Wi-Fi, seating crunches near security hold areas, limited retail diversity and cratered approach roads outside the terminal in the ASQ survey.




Flyers have welcomed the interactive, photographic reporting mechanism. “Earlier, reporting an issue felt like a bureaucratic chore that went into a void,” said passenger Tathagata Dasgupta. “While waiting near my gate, I noticed used paper cups and crumpled tissues strewn across the seating rows. I simply scanned the QR code, clicked a couple of pictures, and uploaded them on the spot. It makes airport management directly accountable.”