Kolkata airport’s effort to attract direct flights to London and other European cities is exposing a less visible condition of international connectivity: airlines also judge the terminal experience that passengers encounter before take-off. The airport’s international section currently has fewer retail outlets, weaker lighting, limited amenities and continuing maintenance concerns compared with its domestic area, according to airline and airport officials quoted in the report.
The issue gained significance after Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said the Centre would discuss the possibility of direct flights from Calcutta to London and other European cities with airlines operating in India. The discussion followed a request from chief minister Suvendu Adhikari. No airline commitment or launch date is mentioned in the supplied material. Instead, the report describes the physical and operational changes airport stakeholders believe are needed before such connectivity can become attractive to carriers.
That makes the airport’s international terminal more than a backdrop to the proposed routes. It is part of the proposition being presented to airlines and travellers. Airline officials said the international section should offer facilities and amenities comparable with the domestic area. One official described the international departure section as dull, dimly lit and lifeless, while also pointing to the smaller number of shops in the security hold area.
The contrast matters because the security hold is where passengers spend time after completing security checks. In the international section, officials said there are only a handful of food and beverage outlets and no mishti stores. Bengali sweets are a distinctive part of the city’s travel identity, but international passengers cannot access the domestic section after entering the terminal. According to the report, passengers sometimes ask airline staff to buy mishti from domestic-area stores because they are uncertain whether sweets purchased outside will be permitted in hand baggage.
This is a small operational detail with a wider lesson. Airport experience is built through many points of contact: signage, lighting, washrooms, food, retail, money-changing services, luggage wrapping and the ease with which passengers can understand what is available to them. A missing amenity may not determine whether an airline launches a route, but a pattern of unfinished or poorly maintained facilities can shape how an airport is perceived by passengers and airline staff.
The retail gap is also connected to the way airport commercial space is managed. Airport sources said rigid tender clauses and high rates have discouraged brands from opening outlets. The problem is therefore not simply a lack of demand or a failure by retailers to recognise Kolkata’s identity. It also reflects the conditions under which commercial space is offered and operated inside the terminal.
The closure of the duty-free stores has added another layer to the problem. The report notes that the Airports Authority of India did not extend the contract with the agency operating the facility. A new agency has been awarded the tender, but customs clearance is still awaited. Airport officials said the new agency has begun installing infrastructure and that clearance is expected soon. Until that process is completed, an important international-terminal service remains unavailable despite a replacement operator having been selected.
This sequence illustrates the institutional chain behind an apparently simple passenger facility. A commercial service requires a tender, a contract, infrastructure installation and customs clearance before it can operate. Delays at any stage affect the passenger-facing terminal. The report does not establish how long the clearance process will take, but it shows that airport amenities depend on coordination between airport management, commercial operators and customs authorities.
Lighting and information systems are another area where the international section is described as lagging. Airline officials said illumination was inadequate compared with the domestic area and suggested a large display board similar to the one near gates 3A and 3B in the domestic departure area. That board carries advertisements and information about airport programmes. The proposed comparison is not only about brightness; it is about whether the international section feels active, legible and maintained.
Washrooms show how the airport’s visible condition is experienced at ground level. Their condition has improved after renovations, but passengers and airline officials said further work is needed. A frequent flier cited occasional gutkha stains in washbasins and said lighting could be brighter. The same passenger said the facilities were still not comparable with those at Mumbai or Delhi airports. These observations are attributed to the people quoted in the report and do not amount to a formal performance assessment, but they identify the specific details passengers use to judge an airport.
Airport authorities have responded with a maintenance programme. A senior airport official said deep cleaning of washrooms and check-in areas is being conducted periodically using specialised chemicals to remove stains. The process also includes measures relating to ventilation and other technical issues. Two groups have been formed for daily maintenance and daily housekeeping, with staff checking the terminal for technical or operational problems and ensuring that housekeeping personnel are stationed in washrooms.
The airport is also carrying out painting and maintenance work in the car park. The upper level has been painted, while work in the basement is under way. These works may appear separate from the question of direct European connectivity, but they form part of the same airport environment that passengers encounter from arrival to departure. The supplied material does not provide a budget, completion deadline or passenger-volume target for this work.
The missing money changers and the departure of the luggage-wrapping agency point to another weakness: basic services can disappear even when the terminal remains operational. Airline officials described these as amenities that are still missing from the international section. For passengers travelling abroad, such services are not ornamental. They support the practical tasks associated with international travel, particularly for those who may not be familiar with the terminal or the requirements of an overseas journey.
The proposed European routes therefore place Kolkata airport’s facilities within a wider competition for airline attention. The minister’s statement creates a policy-level opening, but the airport’s own officials and airline representatives are identifying the terminal as an implementation challenge. The report does not say that the current facilities alone have prevented airlines from starting direct Europe services. It does show that stakeholders consider improvements necessary to make the international section comparable with the domestic area and more attractive to carriers and passengers.
There is also a governance question in the airport’s response. Maintenance is being organised through daily inspection and housekeeping groups, while commercial gaps are being addressed through tenders, new agency appointments and pending customs clearance. These are different administrative functions, but passengers experience them as one terminal. A clean washroom, a functioning money changer, a visible sign and an open retail outlet all contribute to the same perception of whether an international gateway is ready.
Kolkata’s Europe connectivity discussion will ultimately depend on airline decisions, and the supplied report does not establish whether any carrier has agreed to operate a route. What it does establish is that the connectivity conversation has moved beyond destination demand and government requests to the condition of the airport itself. The next measurable developments are the restoration of duty-free operations, completion of maintenance and painting work, improvement of international-terminal amenities, and any formal announcement by airlines or authorities on direct European services.
