Airport to get new aerobridges, proposal for 3rd terminal ready

LUCKNOW: Two ageing aerobridges of Lucknow airport’s domestic terminal will be replaced by new ones. In addition, two more aerobridges will be added at the terminal soon.

Also, with international traffic from Lucknow growing every year, the proposal of a third terminal at the airport has been finalised and land survey for the same has been completed.

The old terminal, which is being used as the international terminal, does not have any aerobridges, while the new terminal used for domestic flights has two aerobridges. “This required immediate attention,” said director, airport, PK Srivastava.

These aerobridges were placed at the terminal when the new domestic building was commissioned in 2012.

With increasing footfall over the years, the Airport Authority of India was forced to think about a third terminal at Lucknow. “The footfall has crossed 31 lakh per year so there is a need for expansion. A third terminal is going to be a reality soon,” said another official of airport on condition of anonymity.

He added that land survey had been completed and the project report was ready. “Soon, work for the third terminal will start,” he said. While the domestic terminal is spread over an area of 20,000 sq m, the third terminal is expected to sprawl over an area of 45,000 sq m, said sources from the AAI.

The airport authority has also planned to extend the runway at Lucknow Airport so that it can accommodate landing of bigger aircrafts like Boeing 747-757 too. For that, land has already been acquired and survey completed. Once bigger aircrafts are able to land at Lucknow, operation of long-distance flights will also start from here.

Of late, the Lucknow airport has also been dogged by the problem of poor facilities at the international terminal. The new double storey building used for domestic flights is better equipped when compared to the old building that serves as the international terminal.