The three-decade-old Terminal 2 of Indira Gandhi International Airport has been completely refurbished and is ready for operations since January 15, but the airlines have refused to shift from Terminal 1D.
The private airport operator -- Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL) -- wants to expand the domestic departure Terminal 1D, which is bursting at the seams at present, and plans to shift one or two budget carriers to Terminal 2 as a stop-gap arrangement.
DIAL has refurbished Terminal 2 and a security survey has also been carried out, but budget carriers operating out of Terminal 1D are refusing to budge.
Ready for operations
“All work at Terminal 2 was completed on January 15 and it is ready for operations. However, it is yet not clear when the airlines will shift out of Terminal 1D,” said an official.
While sources claim that domestic budget carrier SpiceJet is likely to be the first airline to move to Terminal 2, the airline has refuted any such plans.
“SpiceJet had expressed its absolute inability to shift its operations to Terminal 2 on a temporary basis, as the same is against the interest of travelling public at large, especially people travelling with SpiceJet,” Ajay Singh, the Chairman and the Managing Director of the airline, has written in a letter to DIAL CEO I Prabhakara Rao.
According to sources, the final decision on the shifting of airlines will be taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, where discussions are on at the moment.
Plans for Terminal 1D
DIAL had received the go-ahead from the Ministry to expand Terminal 1D, following which it decided to use Terminal 2 as a temporary measure for one or two of the budget carriers -- IndiGo, SpiceJet and Go Air.
Terminal 2, once labelled one of the world’s worst international terminals, has been given a new look.
The interiors of the terminal have been redone with new flooring and false ceiling, apart from steel cladding of its pillars. Check-in counters have already been installed, apart from giant information display screens.
Proper signages
DIAL has also put up signages that would guide passengers to Terminal 2 because with three functional terminals now, it is quite likely that the passengers would get confused. Proper signages are of particular importance as Terminal 2 is located closer to Terminal 3 and the domestic Terminal 1D is nearly 5 km away.
Expansion plan
DIAL has embarked on a major expansion plan for Terminal 1D, which will see its size go up from the present 53,000 square metres to 1,33,000 square metres in the next three years. At present, it is expanding the terminal on the air side and will be able to cater to 18 million passengers per annum.
In three years, it is expected to cater to 30 million passengers per annum.
