Delhi International Airport Limited, which is operated by the GMR Airport Infrastructure consortium, said the expanded Terminal 1 would open on Aug 17. Terminal 1 falls under the Phase 3A expansion project, which was inaugurated officially on 10th March by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
DIAL has been working in tandem with the airlines IndiGo and SpiceJet for smoothening the shifting of their flight operations from Terminals 2 and 3 to the new Terminal 1. Beginning August 17, SpiceJet will shift 13 of its flights to Terminal 1, while IndiGo on September 2 will shift 34 of its flights from Terminals 2 and 3 to Terminal 1.
As the old building of Terminal 1 is yet to be renovated, thus with effect from August 17, only the new constructed part will be opened to passengers. The metal canopy collapsed on June 28 at a part of the terminal due to the heavy rains and killed one and injuring eight. IndiGo and SpiceJet temporarily relocated to Terminals 2 and 3 in light of this incident. Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO, DIAL, expressed excitement for the new terminal, stating that this augmentation will increase the capacity of the airport and the pressure at terminals 2 and 3. Upgraded facilities will offer improved amenities and technology for a better travel experience.
Passengers traveling by SpiceJet shall enter the new terminal at Gate A on the ground floor, while passengers flying IndiGo shall enter through Gates 5 and 6 on the first floor. DIAL has provided signages and road markings to help passengers reach the respective departure halls. It also plans to deploy RAXA guards to assist in the movement of people. Arrival procedures will be the same, with passengers exiting through the same routes.
This will be complemented by certain other features like an Automated Tray Retrieval System, Individual Carrier System, Common Use Self-Service Kiosks or CUSS kiosks, aerobridges, and SBD stations, which are proposed to be installed in the new terminal for minimizing wait time at the check-in counter by 'Queue-Buster: Mobile Check-in Service'. The new expansion plan has been made according to Master Plan 2016, prepared on the basis of variables and factors such as increasing air traffic, passenger traffic, etc. at Delhi Airport.
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