Chennai: The real test will begin for the Airports Authority of India (AAI), when it operates a wide-bodied aircraft from the new international terminal in the city on Saturday.
A senior airport official said the Saudi Arabian Airlines flight to Riyadh would be operated from the new premises at 10 am on Saturday. The airline uses an Airbus 330-300 wide-bodied aircraft with twin engines and can accommodate up to 335 passengers.
Early this week, the new terminal was commissioned with Jet Airways, Air Austral, Indigo and Spice Jet starting their operations. According to airport sources, these four airlines use only narrow-bodied planes and so the baggage was moved directly to the belly of the aircraft instead of containerising them.
“Now, with handling of bigger aircraft, we will need to containerise baggage and use the ramp to take it to the aeroplane. This is difficult as the lone ramp at the new building has been an area of concern due to it higher gradient level,” said another airport source.
10/08/13 S. Sujatha/Deccan Chronicle
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A senior airport official said the Saudi Arabian Airlines flight to Riyadh would be operated from the new premises at 10 am on Saturday. The airline uses an Airbus 330-300 wide-bodied aircraft with twin engines and can accommodate up to 335 passengers.
Early this week, the new terminal was commissioned with Jet Airways, Air Austral, Indigo and Spice Jet starting their operations. According to airport sources, these four airlines use only narrow-bodied planes and so the baggage was moved directly to the belly of the aircraft instead of containerising them.
“Now, with handling of bigger aircraft, we will need to containerise baggage and use the ramp to take it to the aeroplane. This is difficult as the lone ramp at the new building has been an area of concern due to it higher gradient level,” said another airport source.
10/08/13 S. Sujatha/Deccan Chronicle
