Ghaziabad: Hindon civil terminal poised for short expansion

AAI officials said an expansion of nine metres is being taken up currently, and this will accommodate more passengers

Ghaziabad: The civil terminal at Hindon, as a short-term measure, will be expanded by about 770 square metres (sqms) under a plan to be executed in about nine months after a tender is awarded, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials said on Tuesday.

The civil terminal, which began operations in October 2019, serves passengers from Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Delhi, and other parts of western Uttar Pradesh. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The plan is expected to cost about ₹8.5 crore, they added.

The civil terminal at Sikandarpur, near the IAF’s Hindon air base, is spread over about 22,050 sqm area.

AAI officials said an expansion of nine metres is being taken up currently, and this will accommodate more passengers. “The nine-metre expansion will give us about 770 sqm of space in the present terminal and will help us accommodate about 150 to 450 more passengers. The expansion plan is taken up by AAI. It will take about 8 to 9 months for completion. The tender has been called for the project,” said an AAI officer, requesting anonymity.

Officials said that a long-term plan for expansion of the civil terminal requires about 6.8 hectares, for which the district administration will provide land at Sikandarpur.

“The plan for getting the land is in advanced stages,” the officer quoted above said.

According to officials, the per-day footfall of passengers at the Hindon civil terminal is about 5,000-5,500 per day. It has currently reduced to about 4,000-4,500 after several flights were suspended or shut down.

“At present, we have 17 each of landings and takeoffs. Earlier, we had 46 flights coming in and taking off. The flights to cities like Jaipur (Rajasthan), Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) have been suspended in the wake of winter, as we are allowed to operate by the IAF from sunrise to sunset. Further, flights to Ludhiana and Bathinda have been closed down due to the closure of operations by an airline,” the officer added.

In September, chairperson of the airport coordination committee and Ghaziabad MP Atul Garg had said that flights to Lucknow and Prayagraj were expected around the festival of Diwali as he held meetings with senior AAI officials.

However, the flights have not started yet.

“There has been some delay for the flights to Lucknow and Prayagraj, as the present civil terminal has limited parking bays (two). I have recently met defence minister Rajnath Singh and have requested more facilities so that more parking bays can be made available for aircraft. The matter is under consideration by the ministry of defence,” Garg added.

During his visit to the civil airport on September 17, Union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said that the Hindon airport is fast developing and expansion plans are underway.

“The terminal is saturated, and we have planned to expand it. We are also in talks with the Indian Air Force to increase terminal bays,” the minister had said.

The civil terminal, which began operations in October 2019, serves passengers from Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Delhi, and other parts of western Uttar Pradesh.