T-3 unlikely to go domestic before Games

New Delhi: Even though the issue of electricity supply to the new Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport was sorted out with the commissioning of the 220-KV dedicated grid last week, domestic passengers would still have to wait till October-end before they can start using it.
Though the final decision would be taken by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel by September 15, all the stakeholders are of the view that the present domestic terminals at IGI are functioning well and a change of setup at a time so close to the Commonwealth Games would only lead to chaos.
At least 16,000 athletes and delegates would start arriving at IGI Airport from September 15. Some delegations, officials said, would land at Mumbai airport and take connecting flights to Delhi. “Since domestic operations will not shift to T3 before the Games, the Organising Committee may put up its counter at the existing terminal and depute a special squad to receive delegates. Normal passenger movement will not be hampered,” a senior airport official said.
Sources said that despite the new DGCA rule of closing check-in counters and boarding gates much before the scheduled time of departure, the two operational runways at IGIA — 27-9 and 29-11 — still lead to air traffic congestion-related delays.
07/09/10 Geeta Gupta/ExpressIndia

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Categories: airports Sep 2010