All change at Delhi's gleaming new airport

Delhi: Inside Delhi airport's gleaming new Terminal 3 (T3) there is a frenzy of activity as workers put up signs, polish the shining granite floor and check to make sure everything is in order. The first impression you get as you walk in is the tremendous sense of scale.
At just a little over 500,000 sq m, this is one of the world's largest terminals, just behind Hong Kong and Bangkok and ahead of Madrid's T4 and Heathrow's T5.
It is geared to handle 34 million passengers per year - more than Singapore's Changi airport.
The nine-level glass and steel structure is also built to allow maximum natural light but without letting in the heat and, therefore, save on energy use.
Passengers can check in for both international and domestic flights within India before heading into a large waiting area with shops, restaurants, bars, lounges and business centres.
There is even a 100-room hotel inside the terminal for passengers to nap or take a shower while waiting for their flight. Aircraft will dock at one of the numerous gates built along giant piers which are more than a kilometre in length from one end to the other. Special gates have been built to accommodate the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus 380.
Once the terminal opens, it will handle all of Delhi's international flights and most internal ones.
But while it may resemble any other international airport, there has been an attempt to give it distinctive Indian touches. International passengers queuing up at passport control will be confronted with an installation of sculpted hands set against copper plates depicting classical Indian dance poses. At duty free, travellers can browse through the "Delhi Bazaar" - which replicates the experience of shopping at a traditional Indian market.
02/07/10 Sanjoy Majumder/BBC News

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Categories: Airports Jul 2010, New Jul 2010