Flights from new Pune airport terminal to begin after 3 weeks
Amidst Lok Sabha Elections, Pune airport gears up by increasing non-scheduled flights by 20%
The Pune airport’s new terminal building is finally scheduled to open on March 10, but flight operations won’t begin until four or five weeks later, according to airport officials.
On Sunday, PM Modi will formally open the building through video conference. Testing of the final infrastructure, which will be phased out of the current building over time, will take longer, according to an airport official. For the event, the chief minister and deputy chief minister will be in Pune. Although the new terminal building’s system testing is almost complete, a few more test runs are required before actual flight operations start.
According to a second airport official, all operations at the current building will be relocated, including baggage scanning, customs, airline operations, various counters, and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Tests are therefore crucial. It will also take some time for airlines to adjust before they start flying. It will take at least a month to complete the process.
The official further added that additional plans will be made during this time, including how to make it easier for travelers to enter the AeroMall and the new building. In order to move travelers from the arrival area to the AeroMall, where the taxi pick-up area is located, the airport plans to hire two low-floor buses. Early to mid-April is when operations from the new building are anticipated to begin.
The controversy surrounding the new building, which cost Rs 475 crore, has drawn political attention from opposition parties due to the delay in its inauguration. On the matter, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have both criticised the state government.
With an annual passenger capacity of 12 million and an hourly capacity of 1,400, the new terminal boasts a larger area. It has five baggage belts and five aerobridges. Once the new building is operational, the old one will close, but passengers will still be able to use all ten aerobridges. Passengers will be able to utilize nine baggage belts once the old building has been renovated and reopened in a year. Travelers won’t have to scan their bags before proceeding to the check-in counters thanks to the two inline baggage screening systems in the new building.
