At a time when Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has initiated work to enhance Terminal-II infrastructure, two major airlines — SpiceJet and IndiGo — will shift to Terminal-III of the IGIA from September 5.
On Monday, DIAL in its official statement said the shift is to pave way for infra enhancement of T-II, after which its capacity will increase from 15 million passengers per annum (MPPA) to 18MPPA. “This will enhance the passenger experience at T-II terminal after the movement. GoAir and IndiGo will be the two major airlines operating from T-II,” DIAL notification reads.
Notably, Indigo will operate partially from T-III also. IndiGo flights of 5,000 series will shift from T2 to T3 and but flight operations of IndiGo and SpiceJet at T1 will remain unaffected.
DIAL official said, “The move comes as part of DIAL’s efforts to enhance passenger experience at Delhi Airport at a time when SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir, operating from Terminal 2, have witnessed a steep traffic growth compounded by the re-allocation of Jet Airways traffic.”
“The shifting will enable the airport operator to enhance the overall infrastructure of T2, which is being enhanced to handle rising passenger traffic,” he added.
When asked what new changes will incorporate for passengers’ comfort, DIAL official said, “Under T2 capacity enhancement initiatives, the Security Hold Area (SHA), bus gate hold area, new arrivals area and passengers waiting areas would be expanded, while Pre-Embarkation Security Checks (PESC) area would be relocated and Automated Tray Retrieval System (ATRS) would be installed.”
This may be noted that several passengers have complained about the missing sitting area at T-II while T-II operates domestic flight operations where passenger number is relatively higher. After the move, passenger load at T-II will reduce by 27percent.
Commenting on the development, Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO-DIAL said, “With Delhi Airport witnessing a surge in passenger traffic, DIAL is enhancing the capacity of T2. The move will ease the pressure of fast growing traffic, so that the capacity enhancement works at Terminal 2 can be carried out effectively and efficiently. We appreciate SpiceJet and IndiGo for their agreement to shift their operations from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3”.
Presently, GoAir fully and SpiceJet and IndiGo partially operate their respective domestic flights from T2, while Air India, Vistara and Air Asia India operate completely out of T3.
The revamped Terminal 2 was operationalized in October 2017, which saw partial shifting of SpiceJet and IndiGo, and complete shifting of GoAir from Terminal 1.
Meanwhile, DIAL has started Phase 3A expansion works of airside as well as Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 to make Delhi Airport future-ready. This will increase the airside capacity to 140 MPPA from 100 MPPA by July 2022.
