Letters to the Editor
View(s):Let’s make BIA passenger-friendly
I have been using the Katunayake Airport (BIA) at least three times a year for the past 29 years or so. I thought of penning a few suggestions for the authorities since I have noticed stagnation of certain services without much improvement. Since Sri Lanka is going to depend on tourism for much needed foreign exchange, providing a good impression and pleasant experience for tourists at their first point of contact is important.
Almost all the passengers use the airport toilets at least once through their airport journey. So toilets need to be spotlessly clean and well maintained. Well dressed trained staff need to man them as well.
Immigration should be fast. Foreigners should have separate counters. People hate waiting and it gives a long-lasting negative impression. Optimizing the queue management is a must. Movement through a one-line queue system is much faster. Also passengers often think they’re being treated ‘unfairly’ when there are multiple lines. “Fairness” is a significant factor influencing people’s perception of wait times and their experience in the airport.
Many times passengers get confused about queue lines. Therefore, customer assistants should be proactive and move around and speak to the passengers clearing their doubts.
Politeness and pleasantness are the most important factors above all in customer service and unfortunately that’s what our airport staff lack the most. They need to be friendly, smiling and accessible. Immigration officers while showing their authority need to be passenger friendly. They should not consider the passengers as illegal immigrants to the country. Staff members should not be allowed to use mobile phones while on duty. This is a problem everywhere nowadays. Implementing CCTV cameras is one way this menace can be controlled.
All these are applicable to arrival as well as departure areas.
The Foreign Employment Bureau must be more active to identify Middle East workers who need assistance from immigration to the departure gates. They should assist them in finding suitable safe transport to their final destinations. They are often exploited by unscrupulous people at the Duty Free and taxi drivers too. We should not forget their contribution to the country all these years and must treat them in a more respectful manner.
Finally, our airport needs a complete picture of passenger sentiment in order to ensure a good customer experience. An Arrivals and Departures Survey, will give a general picture of what passengers are thinking, doing and feeling as they move through their airport journey.
Dr Janak B. Abayakoon Via email
Dehiwela traffic mess: Common sense needed to find solution
The traffic jam in Dehiwela from the Hospital Road junction upto the Station Road junction, is terrible, to say the least. Compared to Wellawatte and Mount Lavinia, the traffic here practically comes to a standstill at peak times. It is so bad, that nowadays people hate to take their own vehicles and opt for Uber/Pick me etc which in turn increases the traffic on the road. The situation has become so bad that people do not like to rent or buy houses in Dehiwela anymore.
It is time someone, especially the Traffic Police stop and think about the reasons for this. Actually the main reason is someone’s dumb idea of blocking most of the – or all of the – breaks in the boullards where vehicles can take a U turn or cross over to go into a side lane. This means someone coming up to the Hospital junction travelling towards Mount Lavinia has to go all the way up to Station Road and vice versa for the traffic travelling in the opposite direction. Why haven’t the Traffic Police – not even one of them – realized that this stupid idea doubles, triples or multiplies the number of the vehicles travelling both ways in Dehiwela.
I wrote to the newspaper about this almost ten years back asking whether anybody had done a trial study of leaving some of these blocked gaps open and to station a traffic policeman at these places, who can direct the vehicles to take a U turn or to crossover to the opposite side when the incoming traffic is stopped, due to red traffic lights. The OIC/ Traffic at that time, responded through the newspaper itself, that even if they did a study, THEY KNOW that it will not help! So much for scientific methods of solving problems in Sri Lanka. So for 10 years or more this circus continues.
Can we expect common sense to prevail at least at this late stage?
Incidentally, Ramanadhan Avenue which connects 2nd Lane Dehiwela to Frazer Avenue and provides an alternate route to the Marine Drive is so full of pot- holes that many motorists prefer to suffer the terrible traffic jam on Galle Road rather than take this side road. The torrential rain obviously made the situation even worse. Will some authority please look into this too?
Dr.Mareena Thaha Reffai Dehiwela
Get the public involved in detecting traffic violations
One of the main issues our country is facing at the moment is traffic and traffic violations. These violations involve both motorists and pedestrians alike. I would like to suggest a simple proposal to reduce these violations that would benefit the country and people.
Due to modern technology available and mobile phones being a daily part of our lives I feel this can be used as a tool to deter/apprehend offenders of traffic rules until our country reaches a stage where there are ample security cameras nationwide to detect/prevent such violations.
Step 1
Create a Government website with very nominal membership fee (Rs: 500 – 1000) or free of charge for the public to use. This website would be dedicated to the nation’s traffic violations/news and any updates about road development etc
Step 2
Encourage the public to become members of the site to help with detecting / capturing any traffic violations by using their mobile phones (photo/video evidence). I believe this is a very practical method as people are always on their phones and ever ready to take pictures/videos of anything unusual.
Step 3
Upload the video/photo to the government traffic site and monitor what steps have been taken to apprehend the violator. Once the case has been finalized, a percentage of the fine incurred could be reimbursed to the concerned citizen’s account (provided with membership) in order to encourage the people to be vigilant on the streets.
Please note, this is a simple idea which I feel will help the law enforcement agencies clear a lot of cases and get the public involved in helping make our country a lawful place to live.
Angelo Norton Via email