Mumbai: It was a moment of pride and emotion. At 1.15pm sharp, as Air India flight AI 343, the first to land at the new terminal (T2) touched down on Wednesday, it was greeted by the customary canon shower — a tradition of welcome in aviation circles.
All awash and sparkling under the afternoon sun, the aircraft moved down the runway, gleaming with pride as it were. A few employees, who had been part of this infrastructure project, looked on, trying unsuccessfully to hold back their tears.
Such was the scene as the maiden flight landed at the new terminal which was thrown open to the public.
Built at a cost of over Rs 5,500 crore, T2 is a state-of-the-art terminal built as part of a plan to modernise the airport.
As the first batch of passengers disembarked from the Singapore-Chennai-Mumbai flight, they were handed a bag of goodies and sweets. A stone's throw away, traditional musical instruments – the tutari and Nashik dhol – belted out a melodious welcome to the flyers who had just landed with 264 passengers and 11 crew members on board.
13/02/14 Daily News & Analysis
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All awash and sparkling under the afternoon sun, the aircraft moved down the runway, gleaming with pride as it were. A few employees, who had been part of this infrastructure project, looked on, trying unsuccessfully to hold back their tears.
Such was the scene as the maiden flight landed at the new terminal which was thrown open to the public.
Built at a cost of over Rs 5,500 crore, T2 is a state-of-the-art terminal built as part of a plan to modernise the airport.
As the first batch of passengers disembarked from the Singapore-Chennai-Mumbai flight, they were handed a bag of goodies and sweets. A stone's throw away, traditional musical instruments – the tutari and Nashik dhol – belted out a melodious welcome to the flyers who had just landed with 264 passengers and 11 crew members on board.
13/02/14 Daily News & Analysis
