The arrival hall of the new international terminal that has been gathering dust for two years now may soon be opened to the public.
Though new terminals of the Chennai airport were inaugurated in January 2013 and thrown open to the public months later, the arrival hall of the new international terminal remained shut.
This is because officials of the Airports Authority of India wanted to shift from the old to the new hall in a phased manner and this required additional manpower for customs and immigration procedures.
So, while the departures and arrival operations for the domestic and the departures for the international travel were shifted to the new terminals, international arrivals alone continued in the old terminal.
Airport director Deepak Shastri said, “We have spoken to the customs and immigration departments and they said they are working out a plan for initial allocation of manpower. Also, I have communicated to the headquarters to expedite this process. We will start work in a week and if everything goes well, the hall may be opened in a few months.”
Air India will be one of the first airlines to shift to the arrival hall of the new international terminal, Mr. Shastri said.
But airline officials said unless some modifications are carried out, this shifting process may not happen, or if it does, may not be smooth. “They plan to execute some modifications for the new arrival hall. Also, they want to make alterations to the baggage ramp of this hall,” an airline official said.
Unlike the domestic terminal, the international terminal has only one baggage ramp to facilitate the movement of baggage between the aircraft and terminal. If the modifications are not carried out, then there will certainly be congestion at the arrival hall, sources said.
“We have agreed to cooperate on the shifting process, but they have to get the customs and immigration staff in place. The whole process to shift will certainly take at least a few months,” he added.
