The new Integrated Terminal Building (NITB) at Pune Airport, costing ₹423 crore and spanning 51,595 square meters, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March this year. However, operations began on July 14 due to a shortage of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel.
Currently, the new terminal operates 20 flights and will soon handle all flights, Pune Airport Director Santosh Dhoke told The Free Press Journal.
"Major airlines such as Air India and Air India Express have fully transitioned, whereas IndiGo has shifted partially. As of now, 20 arrivals and 20 departures are scheduled from the new terminal," Dhoke said.
"We have instructed all airlines to shift to the new terminal according to their convenience to ensure passengers do not face any trouble," he added.
The new terminal has a passenger handling capacity of nine million per annum and a peak hour capacity of 3,000 passengers, a significant improvement over the existing terminal's capacity of 7.7 million per annum and a peak hour capacity of 2,400 passengers.
In related developments, the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) survey of Pune Airport has been completed, and a report has been submitted to the Chairman of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) by a special team from Delhi that visited Pune for this purpose. The survey, which began on July 8, is necessary for extending the airport runway, allowing for the operation of larger-capacity flights.
Currently, the Pune Airport runway measures 2,535 meters in length and 45 meters in width. The extension requires 500 meters of additional space on the eastern side and 300 meters on the western side. Extending the runway by about 800 meters would make its total length approximately 10,940 feet. With a runway length of around 11,000 feet, even large planes could land at Pune Airport. The estimated cost for this extension is around ₹160 crore.
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