The Hindu : New Delhi News : An eventful year at Delhi airport

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 01, 2008
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New Delhi

New Delhi

An eventful year at Delhi airport

Parul Sharma

DIAL started many new ventures to make the facilities at airport world class

Work is progressing on the third runway to be commissioned in mid-2008
Passenger terminal building to be inaugurated by March 2010

NEW DELHI: In the month of May in the year just gone by, Delhi International Airport (Private) Limited completed one year of operations at Delhi airport.

The consortium led by Bangalore-based GMR Group started many new ventures at the airport, a few of which are expected to be completed in 2008 to help in making it a world-class facility.

The year began with laying of the foundation stone for a new integrated passenger terminal (Terminal 3) and a new runway (11-29).

“Work is progressing on the third runway that will be commissioned in mid-2008. It will be one of the longest runways in Asia equipped with CAT III-B Instrument Landing System at both the ends, which means that an aircraft will be able to land in visibility as low as 50 metres,” claimed a DIAL spokesperson.

The construction work on the passenger terminal building (PTB) -- that will serve both domestic and international passengers through 168 common use check-in counters -- and boarding piers is in full swing now with the building scheduled for inauguration by March 2010, well in time for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

DIAL also began construction work during the year for a brand new domestic terminal to replace the existing Terminal 1B. The new building would include a new Departures building and an expanded and improved Arrivals building.

The process of modernisation of the international terminal (Terminal 2) also began during 2007. In the Departures area, additional space is being created in the concourse. There will be additional Emigration and Immigration counters.

On the existing operations front, several new eateries were opened at the terminals including McDonald’s and Nirula’s. A wide range of duty-free shops were also opened at the airport offering world-class products across categories.

On the airside operations front, four new rapid exit taxiways were commissioned on runway 10-28 to facilitate faster movement of aircraft while landing on the main runway from the Dwarka side. Also, the number of CAT-III lighting-equipped aircraft bays was increased from 25 to 55.

“DIAL also procured an advanced runway friction testing machine to ensure optimum friction levels for the runway surface. A new power-in push-back parking method was introduced in the front two rows of the domestic apron. This method is safer than the previous arrangement which had aircraft and vehicles operating in close proximity,” said an official.

DIAL was also awarded the prestigious ISO 9001:2000 quality certificate during the year. It also received the ISO 9001:2000 certificate from the UK-based Lloyds Register Quality Assurance.

Earlier in February 2007, the international cargo terminal was awarded the prestigious ISO 9001:2000 quality certificate as well.

The cargo operations of DIAL also won the “e-Asia 2007 Award” on “Implementation of e-Commerce / Electronic Data Interchange in Air Cargo Sector”.

To provide additional seating area for passengers delayed due to fog-related delays during winters, Terminal 1B was extended on the kerbside. A flight information display system was also provided in the extension area to update the passengers.

DIAL also set up a call centre (011-25661080) to provide flight information to passengers.

To sensitise its staff towards the needs of the modern air travellers, DIAL initiated training programmes conducted at airports like Singapore, Frankfurt and Kuala Lumpur, to equip them to impart world-class service to passengers. Delhi airport became the first airport on the sub-continent during the year to host the world’s largest aircraft, Airbus A380, that was in Delhi for airport compatibility trials and demonstration flights.

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