BENGALURU: Kempegowda International Airport’s Terminal 2, which had attracted a lot of attention and acclaim with its launch eight months ago, is now battling the red marks from mosquito bites.
Mosquitoes buzzing around air passengers are not only annoying them, but also posing a health risk, unless something is done fast.
As of now, there appears to be no solution in sight in T2. A businessman heading to Bhubaneswar from Bengaluru, along with seven members of his family, recounted being encircled by mosquitoes at the domestic lounge on June 18. “We were waiting for the flight for three hours. We were all bitten by mosquitoes. Everything else is fine about the lounge, but the mosquitoes have become a menace. All of us were changing seats to escape from the mosquitoes,” he told The New Indian Express.
He said a young girl was seated next to their table. “Her entire hand was red from mosquito bites. I suggested that she sit elsewhere.” The airport staff later profusely apologised to her. The flyer said that the staffers told him that everything has been tried out, but nothing has worked. “It might be because of the innumerable plants. As food is served in the lounge, staffers cannot spray. They had tried out herbal sprays but realised that most of them were not at all herbal.”
Air passenger Shipra Baranwal, a director of an advisory firm, tweeted with a picture of a mosquito on her hand, and wrote, “Such a beautiful green terminal 2 in Bengaluru, but please can you do something about mosquitoes.” Another tweeted: “Even the aesthetically neat and clean T2 of KIA is not free of mosquitoes, where do we go then to escape while waiting for our loved ones to arrive @bangalore_2 @BLR_Airport”.
The official handle of KIA thanked everyone for flagging the problem but failed to offer any solution.
When TNIE contacted airport operator Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) about the issue, a spokesperson said she would get back.