Pune, July 14
To enhance the passengers' experience at Pune Airport, the New Integrated Terminal Building was operationalized on Sunday. Murlidhar Mohol, Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation, was present on the occasion.
The terminal was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 10. After completing all the unfinished works, today the terminal is operational for passenger service.
Two airlines (Air India and Air India Express) have started operating from the new terminal building today. Air India Flight AI - 858 (Pune -Delhi) and Air India Express Flight I5 320 (Pune - Bhubaneswar) were the first flights to depart from the new terminal of the Pune airport.
Minister Murlidhar Mohol facilitated the passengers by handing them the boarding passes. The remaining airlines operating at Pune Airport will start operation from the new building in a phased manner.
With a massive built up area of more than 52,000 sq metre, the new terminal building at Pune Airport has a passenger handling capacity of nine million passengers per annum (MPPA) to cater to increasing air traffic.
The new building is centrally air- conditioned with provision of additional five passenger boarding bridges taking the count of passenger boarding bridges to ten, this will provide convenience and hassle-free movement for passengers from the terminal building to the aircraft.
A total of 34 check-in counters and 25 self check-in counters will provide a faster check-in experience to the travelers.
The building is billed as an energy efficient building with four-star GRIHA rating. Provision of 915 sq metre space for food and beverages and 1,206 sq metre space for retail outlets has been reserved .
The new building is equipped with In-Line Hold Baggage Handling System (ILHBS) - an automated system with multiple levels of security screening uses latest and superior technology installed across major airports in India that allows for more efficient check-in process. This will enable passengers to avoid the queue up near the X-ray machines to scan their baggage before check-in.