New integrated terminal building at Srinagar International Airport to be inaugurated tomorrow

New Delhi, Feb 13 (ANI): The new integrated terminal building at the Srinagar Airport will be inaugurated tomorrow with the first international flight of Air India Express to Dubai starting operation from the Airport.

This is a weekly flight and is expected to provide direct connectivity to the immigrant population in Middle East and fillip to tourism in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

This is being done in the presence of a number of dignitaries from the Centre and the State including UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Srinagar is a defence airport where the Airport Authority of India (AAI) maintains a civil enclave.

The civil enclave at Srinagar was established in 1979 for facilitation of civil passengers. Srinagar Airport was declared international airport in March 2005.

The existing terminal building could handle 500 passengers at a time but had no separate facility to handle international passengers.

In view of the growth in air traffic and to provide modern facilities, AAI undertook the construction of a new integrated terminal building with an area of 19700 sqm, with a capacity to handle 950 passengers (500 domestic and 450 international) at a time.

A total expenditure of Rs. 130 crores was incurred to develop the terminal building, apron and taxi track. The project has been fully funded by Government of India.

The main features of new integrated terminal building are modern steel and glass structure, specific roof design to enable easy removal of snow during winter, central heating and air-conditioning of the entire building, escalators, inline baggage handling system for enhanced security, car park to accommodate 250 cars with proper approach road, and check-in counters with Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) system for easy and fast check-in of passengers. (ANI)