Delhi airport’s Terminal 1 likely to reopen in October

• Follow

There is good news for passengers who frequently travel via Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Terminal 1, better known as T1, which has been shut for the past year and a half may reopen by mid-October.

The airport has witnessed a sharp surge in the number of passengers over the last few weeks, with lockdown-related curbs being relaxed and air travel picking up pace. On August 9, there was a footfall of close to 100,000 passengers which was half of the daily average of 200,000 in the pre-pandemic era. As per officials, two weeks ago the daily footfall stood at 45,000.

Terminal ready for reopening

A decision on the reopening date is being considered. The reopening will be smooth and hassle-free as the maintenance work has been carried out, as per a report in the Hindustan Times.

Security is in place

As per Sachin Badhshah, DG-CISF, the force has already been stationed across all terminals of the airport for security and they are fully prepared for T1 to be made functional once again.

The T1 was shut down on March 25, 2020, just two days after international flight operations were cancelled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and the first nationwide lockdown that was imposed in India.

Flight operations resumed in May last year with just Terminal 3 being operational. Terminal 2 resumed operations last October but was shut again this May and was back to functioning in July. Officials had decided on reopening T1 in March but the plan was cancelled when the second wave of the pandemic hit India.

Expansion plans

Even though DIAL officials are yet to decide on a date, T1 initially will see around 120-150 flights operating out of it, inclusive of both arrivals and departures. In the pre-pandemic times, the terminal used to see a minimum of 250-300 flights flying in and out per day with a daily average footfall of 45,000 passengers.

The media report added that T1 will undergo an expansion, which will take at least 18 months and will double the passenger capacity to 40 million passengers per year. The expansion is expected to wrap up by the end of 2023.