When the crash of a glass was heard at Chennai Airport on Wednesday, authorities rushed to clarify that the incident wasn’t part of the world-class airport’s peculiar glass showers.
In a statement issued to the media, Airport Director Deepak Shastri said that on June 29, a passenger broke a glass door of a money exchange counter, dispelling rumours that there was a sighting of the falling glass phenomenon unique to the facility.
Though this time, according to the airport, it was a passenger's fault and what broke was a glass door, the phenomenon of glass panels shattering has happened many times in the past. Sixty three times at last count.
The phenomenon was first noticed in 2013 and authorities are at a loss for explanations. And has been consistently happening in an airport that modelled after London’s Heathrow terminal.
The NHRC had in April issued notices to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airport Authority of India. This after SK Saamy, a Supreme Court lawyer filed a petition following the 61st incident of the airport’s glass ceiling falling.
In his petition, Saamy stated that there had been more than three such incidents in the first six months of the airport’s inauguration. In 2014, a duty officer from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and three other private airline employees sustained injuries due to falling glass panels.
Justice D Murugesan a member of the NHRC stated, "It is really surprising that despite 61 incidents of glass fall, the authorities appear to have not paid heed to the safety concerns of people. If the allegations levelled are true, the matter needs to be inquired into.”
About 13 people have been injured in incidents of falling glass ceilings at the airport.