Delhi's IGI airport to bring Haj terminal into play to ease passenger pressure
06 Mar 2008
New Delhi: Passengers at the Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL) destined for foreign lands may soon breathe a sigh of relief as the largely unused Haj terminal may soon be brought into play for emplaning in addition to IGI airport's already cramped international terminal.
The GMR led consortium, which is developing DIAL, asked a visiting team of aviation ministry and airline officials for the unused Haj terminal to be brought into play as a means of easing the pressure on existing facilities.
Serpentine passenger queues at the airport, even at 2.30 am and in a lean season, was pointed out to the visiting team.
KN Srivastava, a joint secretary at the aviation ministry, led the team.
DIAL has now been asked to provide a detailed plan for the Haj terminal - currently being used for only two months in a year - so that it can get all the required customs, immigration and other facilities and be used alongside the existing terminal.
DIAL was built to cater to 12 million passengers a year but now deals with a traffic flow that is at least twice that figure.
Since it will take some time for the Haj terminal to be brought into play, DIAL has been asked to make improvements at the existing international terminal at the earliest.
