New Delhi: Delhi airport’s newly constructed state-of-the-art arrival terminal at T1 became operational on Thursday with the domestic air passengers’ arrival.
The first flight to arrive at the new terminal was IndiGo flight 6E 6532 from Goa at 03:20 a.m. on Thursday.
The Terminal 1 Arrival has been built as part of the ongoing phase 3A expansion project, the large-scale development and modernisation plan for the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.
“The new terminal has been developed by DIAL, a GMR Infrastructure Ltd led consortium, in line with its commitment to enhancing passenger experience with safe, secure and sustainable infrastructural facilities,” ANI quoted Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar as saying.
The entire arrivals operations of T1 (IndiGo and SpiceJet) will now shift from the existing facility to the new one.
Jaipuriar said the departure operations will continue from the existing terminal, adding it will eventually be integrated with the new arrivals hall post expansion works completion.
The new arrival terminal will, as per the official statement, offer a distinctive experience to the passengers with a contemporary meet and greet zone, plush forecourt area, including landscaping and kiosks for food and beverage, retail and expanded parking area for cars.
Besides, the pick-up lanes outside the arrival terminal have been realigned and widened with three additional lanes, taking the total number of lanes to 11.
In line with DIAL's green initiatives, the new arrival terminal has been built as a green building, keeping globally renowned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building standards in mind.
DIAL has used the day-light concept in the terminal building, which will reduce electricity consumption.
Jaipuriar further said lighting fixtures and equipment like HVAC and baggage belts are energy efficient and thus consume less power.