Five months after its inauguration, Delhi airport's new terminal 1 (T1) will open for operations on August 17.
SpiceJet will operate 13 flights from T1 from August 17 and IndiGo will shift 34 flights to T1 from September 2, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) announced today.
The opening of the new terminal will ease congestion at the airport's other two terminals (T2 and T3), it said.
The new terminal which was developed as a part of expansion plan was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 10.
Operations at T1 were suspended
While the new facility remained shut, all existing operations at T1 were suspended after a portion of roof at old departure forecourt collapsed on June 28. The incident is under investigation and a structural audit is being carried out.
"The state-of-the-art Terminal 1 will significantly boost our capacity, easing pressure on terminals 2 and 3. Passengers can expect a smoother travel experience with improved amenities and advanced technology," DIAL CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar said.
DIAL said queue-buster mobile check in service has been introduced at the new terminal and this will help passengers avoid long queues at check in counters.
100 million passengers per year
The construction of new terminal 1 is part of the airport's expansion plan which also saw the opening of its fourth runway last July. This has increased the airport's handling capacity to 100 million passengers per year. In the last fiscal Delhi airport handled 73.7 million passengers, a growth of 12.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
The new terminal 1 has a redesigned apron on the airside with 82 aircraft parking bays for Airbus A320/Boeing 737 type aircraft and a dual taxiway system for improved air traffic flow.