Pune Airport Set To Likely Open New Terminal in May

Air India and Air India Express have been assigned for the testing of the new terminal, to determine the smooth travel of passengers.

29 April 2024

By Payoshi Bisht

Pune is all set to unveil its new airport terminal in the first week of May, as per the decision of the Airport Authority of India (AAI). In order to test the flights in the initial phase of the opening, only two airlines, Air India and Air India Express, have been assigned to operate from the new terminal. 

The other flights will continue to operate from the old terminal as before for the initial testing phase. The two airlines, Air India and Air India Express, will be taking ‘test flights’ to check if the passengers enjoy a smooth travel or are facing any issues while commuting through the new terminal. If the test flight operations are successful in the first phase, then the AAI will open up the terminal for other airlines as well. 

The new terminal was recently approved by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). BCAS is primarily responsible for setting safety guidelines and procedures for civil flights at the International and Domestic airports in India. After that, the testing of specific aircraft for the proposed new terminal began. On an average, around 16 flights of ‘Air India’ and ‘Air India Express’ are operated daily from Pune airport. Hence, 32 flights per day will be operated from the proposed new terminal.

As per the statement given by Santosh Dhoke, director of Pune Airport, there hasn’t been an official letter received by the airport authorities, although BCAS has approved the new terminal. As and when the letter comes through, the airport authorities will go ahead with allowing airlines to operate through the new terminal. The specific date cannot be disclosed at the moment.