MINSK, 28 October (BelTA) – Measures have been taken in the Minsk National Airport to prevent queues for passengers, including transit ones, BelTA learned from Vladimir Kostin, Director of the Aviation Department of the Belarusian Transport and Communications Ministry, on 28 October.
The official admitted there were queues not only at check-in counters but also in the airport's border clearance zone on the first day the winter schedule kicked in — 25 October. Vladimir Kostin attributed the queues in the border clearance zone to the fact that not all the incoming passengers had filled-in migration cards. “People had to fill in documents while standing near the counters. The process needed time and led to queues,” stated the Director of the Aviation Department of the Belarusian Transport and Communications Ministry. A conference involving airport personnel, personnel of the Belarusian air carrier Belavia, customs service and border service personnel took place in the Minsk National Airport to discuss the problem. Efforts have been put into addressing the problem with catering to transfer passengers.
Speaking about queues at the check-in counters, Vladimir Kostin specified: “In the past the number of personnel manning the counters would be reduced to match the falling number of passengers in the early autumn period. This year the passenger traffic has not dropped. We have decided to increase the number of personnel employed per shift in order to prevent queues.”
The official added that the airport may open another transfer corridor. The decision can double the number of passengers the airport can service.
The airport division of the Belarusian customs service stated on 27 October that they were getting ready to meet the increased number of transit passengers in flights between Belarus and Ukraine and between Belarus and Russia. The introduction of a new flight between Minsk and Odessa on 25 October is expected to further inflate the numbers. Representatives of the State Customs Committee also stated that taking into account preliminary calculations and the experience of organizing flights from Beijing the existing technology allows processing the aircraft, luggage and passengers on connected flights within 30-60 minutes. By putting more personnel to work at peak times and employing other measures the airport can greatly reduce the waiting time for transfer passengers.
The passenger terminal of the Minsk National Airport has been reconstructed for the ice hockey world championship. Now it can handle 5.8 million passengers per annum. “We have yet to reach the three million passengers mark. We expect passenger traffic to increase by 5-8% at most due to people flying between Kiev and Moscow,” Vladimir Kostin was quoted earlier as saying.
