All those flying GoAir airlines, in or out of the Capital, will have to use the newly revamped Terminal 2 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from Sunday onwards. The airline has shifted its operations from 1D to T2 in order to allow the airport operator to execute expansion plans for the existing domestic terminal 1D.
Two other airlines, IndiGo and SpiceJet, however, are still at loggerheads and are yet to decide who will be the next one to leave 1D.
Senior officials said that GoAir flights will start arriving at T2, earlier used only as a Haj Terminal, from Saturday and departures will start from Sunday. The airline had agreed with Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to move its operations from 1D to T2 from October 29. Officials said that T2 has been revamped at a cost of more than Rs 100 crore.
The step was taken after the expansion became necessary as 1D, that has a capacity of 20 million per annum, already recorded a footfall of over 24 million passengers during 2016-17.
Earlier, DIAL had insisted that SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir should shift one-third of their existing flights from 1D to T2, but the suggestion was opposed by these airlines which were not keen to operate from two terminals simultaneously. It was also discussed that all three flights either shift their operations to metro cities to T2 or SpiceJet and GoAir go to T2 but IndiGo keep operating from 1D, and nothing worked out within the time frame given by DIAL.
An option that IndiGo alone be transfer to the newly renovated T2 was also raised, but the airline refused.
DNA had reported in March this year that Terminal 2, renovated at a cost of more than 100 crores, missed its fourth tentative deadline in February 2017 to be made operational. The terminal, was initially to be declared open on January 1, 2017, by the airport operator DIAL, however the tentative deadline was postponed to mid-January and then to February starting. The terminal then missed another tentative deadline of being declared open on February 15, after which the ministry of civil aviation had said that it will find a solution within a week.
What’s in store?
- Can handle 12 million passengers per year
- Radio taxis as well as Black & Yellow taxi services
- Inter-terminal connectivity and shuttle service
- Dedicated parking for staff and passengers
- Sunday onwards, GoAir’s departure flights will be operational only from T2
