Couriers blame delayed delivery on BIA

Couriers blame delayed delivery on BIA
Wednesday June 4 2008 15:50 IST

Monica Jha

BANGALORE: A parcel that would reach an addressee in Bangalore in two days, now takes three to four days. Couriers from within the country would reach in a day; now it takes at least two days. This slack is due to the new airport, which is far away from the city and flight delays have been reported.

''Parcels by other means reach faster than by flight at times after the new airport has become operational. Many foreign companies have stopped shipping material to Bangalore temporarily, due to delays in delivery,'' said Vinay Bomb, an electrical merchant and former chairman of Association of Karnataka Trade and Industry. When the courier services were asked for a plausible reason for the delays in courier delivery, they blamed it on the new airport.

Vijayendra, Operation Manager, First Flight, Bangalore region, told Express: ''Yes, there had been some cases of delay in delivery of consignments. It is all because of the new airport. Due to delay in flight arrivals, the consignment reaches Bangalore late.''

Niranjan, Customer Service Executive, Blue Dart, said: ''There were a few delays last week. It was mainly due to flight delays. The distance and traffic between the City and the Airport also caused some delays.''

Delay in delivery of courier affects business, Vinay Bomb said. ‘‘I promise my client to deliver goods on time and if I fail to do it, it causes financial loss to me as well as to my client. I also lose my customers' trust,’’ he added.

First Flight had discussions with the airport operator — Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) — on this issue, and these problems would be sorted out within a maximum of two weeks, he said.