Airlines operating from terminal 1 of the national capital's aerodrome have been asked by airport operator DIAL to shift "one-third" of their operations to terminal 2 by October as T1 is to be revamped to increase passenger handling capacity, according to a senior official.
IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir operate flights from T1 -- which has a capacity to handle 20 million passengers per annum -- and these carriers have been asked to inform DIAL by August 31 about shifting part of their operations to T2.
DIAL -- which operates the Indira Gandhi International Airport here -- today said a master plan has been prepared under which departure and arrival terminals T1 D and T1 C, respectively, would be merged into one. The total handling capacity of T1 would be increased to 40 million passengers per annum.
Against this backdrop, DIAL has asked the airlines to shift part of their operations to T2 -- which can handle 15 million passengers each year.
"In the last eight months, multiple (rounds of) discussions have happened and finally, we decided that one- third of traffic should have to move to T2," DIAL CEO I Prabhakara Rao said.
The airlines have to decide which routes they want to offer from T2, he told reporters here, adding that shifting has to be done by October.
However, there has been no consensus among the airlines on shifting part of operations from T1.
"They (airlines) want the freedom to manage aircraft rotation based on destination.... (it is) left to them and (they have been asked to) inform us by August 31," Rao said.
While T1 has a rated capacity for 20 million passengers a year, the number of passengers passing through that terminal is around 24 million.
According to Rao, T1 is expected to see more than 26 million passengers in the current financial year.
In 2016-17, 16.1 million passengers either took or arrived in IndiGo flights at T1 while the number stood at 4.5 million and 3.6 million for SpiceJet and GoAir, respectively.
Once the work is completed, operations from T2 would be shifted back to T1. After that, T2 would be demolished and a new terminal T4 will come up there, he said.
Currently, there are two operational terminals at the airport here -- T1 and T3.
International flights used to operate from T2 before the commissioning of the existing swanky T3. Operations were stopped at T2 in 2010.
On when work would start at T1, Rao said it is expected by March next year but did not divulge any financial details.
The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) is a consortium led by GMR group and other stakeholders are government-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Germany's Fraport.
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