Delhi airport’s Terminal 1 likely to reopen by mid-oct

TERMINAL 1 WAS SHUT ON MARCH 25 LAST YEAR, 2 DAYS AFTER FLIGHTS TO INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS WERE SUSPENDED DUE TO COVID-19

NEW DELHI: After remaining shut for over one-and-a-half years, Terminal 1 (T1) of the Indira Gandhi International airport may finally be made operational by mid-october as the Delhi airport has been witnessing rapid increase in the number of passengers over the last few weeks, officials familiar with the matter said.

Delhi airport recorded around 100,000 passengers on Monday, which is nearly half of the average daily footfall of 200,000 recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Officials said the daily passengers’ figure stood at around 45,000 two weeks ago.

A Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) official, on condition of anonymity, said that a decision on the date of reopening is being discussed, adding that the reopening will be smooth even with a week’s notice because maintenance work has been carried out.

Sachin Badshah, director-general of CISF, said that his force is already stationed at all terminals for security, and that they are ready for T1 to be made operational.

T1 was shut on March 25 last year, two days after international flight operations were suspended due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country.

After two months, as air operations resumed in the country, only Terminal 3 was opened. Terminal 2 resumed operations on October 1 last year but shut again in May this year. It was reopened again last month.

Officials had earlier decided to open T1 earlier this year but the plan was dropped due to the second wave of infections.

Though DIAL officials said they were yet to decide on a date, the reopening plan said that T1 will initially see around 120-150 flights a day (both departures and arrivals).

Before the pandemic, the terminal catered to at least 250-300 flights, which translates to around 45,000 passengers a day, a DIAL official said.

Only Spicejet and Indigo flights operate from Terminal 1.

An official said that the terminal’s expansion, which will take at least 18 months, will double the passenger capacity of the terminal from 20 million to 40 million passengers per annum. The work will be completed by the end of 2023.

Under the current expansion plan, the apron area of T1 will be expanded to 6.29 lakh sq metres from 2.82 lakh sq metres.

The total area of the terminal, including departure and arrival, will be 1.92 lakh sq metres, around three times of the existing 64,000 sq metres.