Finally, it’s almost ready. By the first week of March, air passengers will be able to use the new domestic terminal at Chennai airport.
At first though, only when they arrive in the city, but by mid-March, when they leave too. Airport officials said that both the arrival and departure terminals will soon be thrown open for public use.
“We have a few issues with the ramp inside the terminals at present, but hope to fix it in another 15 days. Once that is done, the arrival terminal will be made operational first, and then the departure terminal,” said airport director H.S. Suresh.
Shifting departure proceedings from the old to the new terminal is much more complex than the shifting of the arrival proceedings, since there are more procedures involved. That is another reason the new arrival terminal will be operational first, Mr. Suresh said.
The wait for the international terminal though, may be longer than a month, since logistics procedures have to be worked out and completed before operations can begin there, he added.
“With the new Delhi airport too, they began in a similar manner. First the arrival terminal was opened, and then the departure terminal,” an airport official said.
The new airport project that began in 2008, was plagued by delays, but was finally inaugurated by Vice President Hamid Ansari on January 31.
