Airport Terminal: A long wait finally ends

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is a new dawn for the aviation sector of the State capital as the new international terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram Airport is being thrown open to the public on Tuesday.

The new terminal, which boasts of state-of-the-art facilities, will become operational on Tuesday with an Air India Express (AIE) flight from Sharjah reaching the new terminal at 6 pm and another AIE flight leaving for Dubai at 7 pm.

Airport Director G Chandramouli said that except for certain issues pertaining to cargo, everything was in place. “We are hopeful that the new terminal will become operational on Tuesday itself,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE) Deputy General Manager (Cargo) Abdul Rehman said that all arrangements for operating cargo from the new terminal were ready. “The Customs authorities will be giving temporary notification for operating air cargo from a temporary facility set up near the new terminal,” he said.

It is a long-pending demand of city residents being realised. Cries for a new terminal date back several decades. The state capital had also witnessed a series of agitations demanding a new terminal for the Thiruvananthapruam Airport.

The city airport had come into existence in 1932 following the initiative of Colonel G V Raja, husband of Karthika Thirunal of the Travancore royal family. The first flight landed in Thiruvananthapuruam in 1935. It was none other than J R D Tata who had flown an aircraft of the Tata Airlines then.

The airport was later developed as a domestic terminal and was upgraded as an international airport in 1991.

Following persistent demands from the State, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) prepared a master plan that envisages a new international terminal, a domestic terminal, a new air traffic control station and a cargo complex. The State Government has so far acquired 30 acres of land,  where the new international terminal has come up.

The State will have to acquire another 80 acres where the new domestic terminal, air traffic control station and cargo complex would be set up.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the new international terminal on November 1, 2006. Though the construction was completed a few months back, its commissioning got delayed owing to various factors, including differences between the State and Central governments over the chief guest. Finally, the PM formally inaugurated the terminal on February 12 this year.

The new terminal has been constructed at a cost of Rs 290 crore. Spread over 32,200 square metres, the facility can handle 1,600 passengers at a time and an annual capacity to handle 18 lakh passengers.

It will have 30 check-in counters with Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) facility for easy transit of passengers, 14 immigration counters, two Customs counters and four security check counters in departure. There will be 12 immigration counters and nine Customs check counters for the arriving passengers. With glass being a major portion of the new structure, it also provides natural lighting inside the building.

Another attraction of the new terminal is that visitors can enter the terminal building up to the point that they could see the departing passengers even after checking-in, which is not possible in the existing terminal. The entry fee is Rs 60 per person.

A major advantage for the public is that the new terminal is nearer to the city by about four kilometres compared to the existing terminal.

The Airports Authority of India will be charging user development fee of Rs 575 per embarking international passenger from Tuesday. Passengers who had not paid user fee along with the ticket will have to pay the amount at the special counters at the terminal.

trivandrum@expressbuzz.com