Friday, October 02, 2015

Integrated terminal may turn Mumbai airport into major aviation hub

With domestic operations of all airlines gradually shifting to T2, the city airport is projected to witness tremendous passenger growth in the coming years, transforming it to a leading aviation hub in the continent.
The domestic operations of national carrier Air India (AI) shifted to Terminal 2 (T2) of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) on Thursday. Jet airways will be the next to follow AI. Vistara, which started its operations earlier this year, already flies from the new terminal and Spicejet and GoAir are expected to follow later.
The aviation experts said the integration of terminals will lead to several benefits, just like at Japan's Narita airport where international and domestic operations were integrated in 2006. The devolution process brought incremental growth of about one million passengers annually to the airport. The model was replicated at several US, Middle East and European airports, the insiders said.
“Today is an enormous day, not only for India but also for Star Alliance and the country's aviation business,” said Mark Schwab, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Star Alliance, of which AI is a partner.
02/10/15 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis
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