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Mumbai airport's iconic terminal - T2 will open for operations on Wednesday afternoon. Air India's Singapore-Chennai-Mumbai flight which lands in Mumbai at 1 p.m. will be the first arrival and Jet Airways Mumbai-London flight will be the first departure at from the new terminal. Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan will inaugurate the elevated road linking western express highway to the terminal on Wednesday morning.
International operations at Mumbai airport will not be suspended and switch from the existing terminal to the T2 will happen simultaeneously. Initially it was proposed to suspend operations for a few hours to manage the transition but the airport management decided against the idea. Separate teams from customs, immigration and Central Industrial Security Force will man both the terminal buildings that day.
A team of officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) carried out an inspection of Mumbai airport and the terminal facilities on Friday to assess its preparedness to handle Airbus A380 aircraft. Dubai-based Emirates which is also the largest operator of A380 type planes had flown the super jumbo aircraft to celebrate the opening of Delhi's terminal 3. Singapore Airlines and Emirates, however, said there was no plans to fly an Airbus 380 aircraft in Mumbai on Wednesday.
On January 10, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the T2. Spread over 400,000 sq metre, the imposing glass and granite terminal, seen as the GVK Group’s showpiece project, will enhance passenger amenities, reduce immigration and security check delays, apart from offering a wider shopping and dining options. The new terminal has an aesthetic appeal, too, with a three-km long art wall, peacock inspired design, landscaping and gardens. T2 will increase Mumbai airport’s capacity to 40 million (from the existing 30 million a year) and improve its prospects as an aviation hub.
