KOCHI: The new international terminal, T3, of Cochin International Airport will be fully operational by 12.40 p.m. on Tuesday, and the first 1,000 passengers will be presented with their caricatures as mementos by the airport administration, said a press release here.
The caricatures are being prepared with the help of the Kerala Cartoon Academy. Cartoonists like Sudhir Nath, Unnikrishnan, and Sajeeve are among the 20 who will draw caricatures. The ‘cartoon corner’ has been readied at the check-in island ‘C’, the release added.
The first flight to take off from T3 will be Air India’s Dubai service at 9.30 a.m. The check-in for the flight will start at 6.30 a.m. at T3, and all international operations will be shifted to the new terminal by 12.40 p.m.
Till 1 p.m. on Tuesday, all international arrivals will be at T1. But the rest of the arrivals after that will be at the new terminal.
Around 150 more Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel have been deployed ahead of the opening of the new terminal. The CISF formally took charge of the security at T3 on Saturday. A facility map has been installed at the departure entrance.
The interiors of T3 reflect the cultural heritage and architecture of Kerala. As passengers enter the departure area, they will be greeted by 15 real-size fibre caparisoned elephants along with mahouts. The overall architecture is traditional in style, with a festival ambience reflected on various floors.
The new terminal has world-class retail facilities, snack bars, sprawling food court at the ground level, 20 retail shops, spa, and lounge bar in the departure area. The first class / business class is spread over 20,000 sq.ft. The duty-free shop, located over 3,500 sq.m., is expected to provide a global shopping experience.
T3 has a solar car park with charging facility for electric cars and shaded car parking facility for 1,400 cars. The newly-constructed flyover is nearly 725 metres long, while the four-lane road stretches up to 4.2 km.
