The new integrated terminal at the Kolkata Airport will become operational by the end of 2011, Mr B.P. Sharma, Airport Director, said here on Wednesday.

The new terminal will be ready by October 2011 and it will take another two months after that to become fully operational. “Although the integrated terminal will be ready by October, some test runs will be carried out there initially before it is made fully operational,” he told newsmen following the Airport Advisory Committee meeting.

Pointing out to the shortage of space in the existing facilities at the Kolkata Airport, Mr Sharma added that an additional space of 600 sq.m. will be created for setting up two additional security check counters.

This will help reduce the check-in time of passengers at the airport. The authorities are also planning to introduce In-line X ray at the integrated terminal complex of the airport for benefit of the passengers.

Currently, a passenger has to wait for at least half an hour at the security counter before he is allowed entry. Airport officials have blamed the shortage of space and an increase in footfall as the reasons for this delay.

The Kolkata Airport currently has a capacity of four million passengers a year while in the last fiscal it almost doubled to around eight million passengers.

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