Pune, August 11: IT’S 4.30 pm. More than 12 hours after the revamped Terminal 1B was opened at Chhatrapati Shivaji airport in Mumbai — while it sports a swish international feel, with wide open, naturally-lit spaces and a thought-out design effort—the quality of the experience is some way from being truly world class.

At the end of a rushed schedule to get the facility ready in time, the entrance has three men perched on bars, painting them white—when it’s ready, this will be a rain shelter for passengers as they get into the airport.

Former Navy man Commander Sukumar (54), a frequent flyer, was impressed with the ambiance. But waiting for his flight to Bangalore, he noticed everything wasn’t in place yet. ‘‘Looks like they’re still building it. The signboards for toilets are not up yet and there are no food counters,’’ he said. ‘‘Why should a departure centre not open just because there’s no food counter. There is a restaurant in the building,’’ Sukumar said.

‘‘More importantly, there are no phone booths. What if you don’t have a cellphone, and want to call someone outside?’’ Sukumar asked, also pointing to the need for help desks: ‘‘At the baggage counters, they haven’t put up any distinct signage for the various airlines. I had to go searching for the Air Deccan counter.’’

But the new departure centre got some thumbs ups too. ‘‘There seem to be substantially more personnel as well as counters here. They’re assisting us well, service has been good so far, hopefully they’ll keep it up. It’s also more spacious,’’ said Jaimala Patel, a UAE resident.

Outside the entrance, through glass panels, visitors exchange final goodbyes with people they’ve come to see off—visitors are not allowed beyond this point. The new trolleys are also not readily available, placed are in lines at two ends of the walkway, which makes them inconveniently far from the entrance. ‘‘People have to draw them 1ll the way to their vehicle,’’ N K Badrinarayan (55) said.

Amit Parmar, a professional from Delhi, felt Jet Airways still had some work to do on its ticketing counter. ‘‘There are no separation bars at the counter, so passengers start crowding in unruly groups,’’ he complained.