Phone low on battery? 'Look under your seat,' says Kolkata airport as new chairs to get USB ports

KOLKATA: The city airport this year is set to upgrade the three-seater chairs in the terminal building with ones that will have built-in USB ports to enable flyers to charge their cell phones before a flight.

The decision will help resolve a major peeve among flyers: paucity of charging ports at the airport, particularly in the waiting area at boarding gates, and their absence near the luggage retrieval belts in the arrival zone.


“We had earlier decided to change those chairs that had got damaged after 12 years of use (the terminal became functional in March 2013). But with passengers highlighting the charging problem at the airport, a decision was taken to replace the chairs with ones that have charging ports,” Kolkata airport director Vikram Singh said.

Now, there are island charging facilities near every other boarding gate. But such island charging units allow only three-four persons to charge their phones at a time. That is one charging port for 100 passengers. Also, since the island charging stations are away from the seats, flyers have to stand while their phones or battery packs get charged.

“The new chairs will resolve both issues. While there may be one or even two charging ports for every three seats, it will also ensure people can charge their device while seated,” Singh said.

The airport has 1,774 three-seater chairs, of which 954 are set to be upgraded to ones with charging ports.

Sources said the cost of replacing the chairs at the airport, most of which are 12 years old, is estimated at Rs 5 crore to Rs 6 crore. The bulk of the seats at the airport are in the security hold, mostly at the boarding gates. There are also some in the arrival area — near the baggage claim belts and in the lounge.

Airport officials are keen on replacing chairs at the boarding gates first so that flyers can charge their cell phones before taking their flights. Next in line are seats in the arrival area.

One of the challenges the airport is facing is providing electrical connection to the seats. The airport’s electrical team is trying to work out how to take electrical cables through ducts to the seating area to provide connection to the seats.

“We will find a solution and new chairs with charging ports will be in place this year,” the airport director said.

Airport seating arrangements are designed to adhere to a worldwide standard, featuring sets of three connected seats divided by armrests. The placement of these modular units in a parallel configuration reduces the likelihood of face-to-face encounters between passengers.