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New airport terminal inauguration delayed even as chaos prevails at old facility
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to unveil the New Integrated Terminal Building (NITB) in October 2023, it is yet to begin operations more than six months after its completion
The inauguration of the new airport terminal at Pune airport has been postponed even further, much to the dismay of many Punekars.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to unveil the New Integrated Terminal Building (NITB) in October 2023, it is yet to begin operations more than six months after its completion.
The work of the New Integrated Terminal Building (NITB) project at the Pune airport has already missed 5 to 6 deadlines given by agencies. As the number of flight operations has increased in the last few months and new destinations are being connected to Pune, there was an urgent need to have a bigger terminal building ahead of the holiday season.
It was a major disappointment for Karan Makwana and his family when they had to face hurdles while boarding a plane on Saturday, December 30.
“As it was year-end, we had booked our flight for Lucknow from Pune airport in advance. However, we faced many issues right from security check-in, long queues of passengers, and facilities at the terminal building were in disarray.”
For the past few days, fliers departing from the Pune airport have consistently expressed their displeasure with congested areas, challenges with the check-in procedure, and other issues. The only solution to this problem is to begin operations of the new terminal building, which is fully prepared and ready for inauguration.
“A new terminal building is ready, but it has not yet been officially inaugurated and is not open to the public. On the one hand, passengers have to deal with inadequate facilities at the old terminal building while waiting for the new one to open. We demand that the new terminal building operations shall commence soon’, said frequent flyer Pankaj Kataria.
The new terminal building at Pune airport has been completed for over 5 months, however, the operations are yet to begin.
The NITB has a total built-up area of 50,000 sq mt and the completed building will have 10 aerobridges and 72 check-in counters. The Pune airport expansion project includes the construction of a new terminal building at a cost of ₹475 crore, a multilevel car parking for ₹120 crore and a new cargo complex at a cost of about ₹300 crore.
“Hopefully the new terminal building will start its operations in January 2024, we are waiting for the official inauguration to happen,” said a senior AAI official on condition of anonymity.
