The Hindu Business Line : AAI to revamp 2nd international terminal at Mumbai airport

CLOSE on the heels of the Rs 63-crore overhaul of the second domestic terminal at Chattrapati Shivaji Airport here, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is in the process of finalising drawings to overhaul the second international terminal, which was decommissioned in 1999.

The revamp of the second domestic terminal used by private domestic carriers is expected to be complete soon and AAI hopes to commission the facility by June.

According to the AAI Director, Mr Sudhir Kumar, the overhaul of the domestic terminal would add 7,000 sq. metre of space.

Post-overhaul, the terminal will have 70 check-in counters against 45 currently, besides an additional security hold to process more passengers.

The new terminal will be able to accommodate operations of more airlines. New players such as Kingfisher Airlines, Royal and Go have approached the DGCA (Directorate-General of Civil Aviation) to commence domestic operations, he said.

The AAI plans parking bays and hangars, among other facilities, on about 160 acres of its land currently encroached upon by slums. This comes in the backdrop of a slum clearance drive being undertaken by the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

The airport is, on a trial basis, trying to bring the second runway, which intersects the current one, into operation.

The airport, which has witnessed "unprecedented" growth in the number of passengers handled, hopes to service 15 million passengers in 2004-05, compared to 13 million handled in 2003-04.

In six months (April-September 2004), the airport has witnessed a 19.4-per cent increase in the passengers handled — 7.3 million passengers, against 6.1 million in the corresponding previous period. This includes a 15.7-per cent increase in the number of international passengers handled and a 21.8-per cent increase in the number of domestic passengers handled by the airport.

Mr Kumar attributed the sharp rise in domestic air passengers to increased economic activity in the country as well as the competent pricing of fares and the arrival of low-cost carriers on the scene.

During the six-month period to September 2004, the airport recorded a 16.9-per cent growth in the international cargo handled by it.

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