One month after inauguration, Pune airport’s new terminal still not open; awaits security clearance

Pune airport’s new terminal was inaugurated on March 10 but it is yet to welcome passengers as it awaits security clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).

Initially, the Airports Authority of India planned to open the terminal on April 1, but the opening was postponed until April 15, and now further delays have been attributed to technical reasons and pending approvals.

Despite the completion of tests and submission of proposals for security clearance, the airport authority is still awaiting approval from BCAS. Additionally, 231 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel need to be deployed at the new terminal, which has yet to be approved. The delay in opening the new terminal is causing congestion and inconvenience at the old terminal and delaying its renovation.

Residents of Pune have been desperately waiting for the new terminal to become operational as the existing Pune airport terminal is heavily under equipped to handle the large volume of flyers using Pune airport. Long queues have been witnessed at check in counters, security check, and in parking areas due to lack of space. The new terminal is a beacon of hope for Pune travelers. However it is still not clear as to when the new terminal will put an end to the woes of flyers from Pune airport.

Pending security clearance, recruitment of CISF personnel to man the airport security, and approval of shops and catering services to start operations are some of the hurdles delaying the commencement of operations from the new terminal.

The new terminal’s features include a total area of 52,000 square meters, a passenger capacity of 3,000 per hour, and an annual passenger capacity of 9 million. Other features include 15 passenger lifts, 8 escalators, 34 check-in counters, parking capacity for 1,000 cars, and a total cost of Rs. 475 crores.

Santosh Dhoke, Director of Pune Airport, expressed optimism that approval would be granted soon following the BCAS inspection.