Newly-expanded International-to-International transfer area at T3 will make Delhi airport future ready

Air travel has increased due to the opening up of international borders in March 2022, passenger inflow has increased to a level where managing passengers became a task for airport officials. Hence as a solution, Delhi airport decided to expand Terminal 3 airport, to accommodate passengers. Now, the Delhi Airport's new expanded International-to-International (I-to-I) transfer area at Terminal 3 Arrivals is ready for operations.  Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has built a state-of-the-art extended I-to-I transfer area with additional facilities to make a passenger's connecting journey hassle-free. This comes as a part of the ongoing expansion of Delhi Airport under phase 3A. This ongoing Phase 3A expansion work will make Delhi Airport future-ready.

DIAL's ongoing Phase 3A expansion work encompasses various large-scale development and modernisation activities to make Delhi Airport future-ready. Post completion of Phase 3A expansion work scheduled in 2023, the passenger handling capacity of Delhi Airport will increase to 100 million passengers per annum (MPPA), while the airside capacity will increase to 140 MPPA.

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The newly extended I-to-I transfer area spans approximately 3,000 square meters, which is double in size of the previous I-to-I transfer area. It will have seven (7) Food and Beverage (F&B) and retail counters, 10 check-in counters, 15 frisking booths, and eight (8) X-ray machines in the expanded transfer area for the convenience of passengers. Earlier, there was only one F&B and retail counter, 06 check-in counters, 11 frisking booths, and four X-Ray machines.

The F&B and retail counters will give passengers an option to shop, eat, and relax if they have enough time before their flight. Similarly, more frisking booths and check-in counters, and X-Ray machines will make the process of International transfers faster and smoother.

The need for expansion of the I-to-I transfer area arose to accommodate the increasing number of international transfer passengers at Terminal 3. Given this, the floor plate at the Arrival level of Pier A & B junction of Terminal 3 has been increased suitably.

"We have successfully completed the extension of the International to International transfer area at Terminal 3 of Delhi Airport and now it is ready for operations. We are committed to providing a world-class experience to the passengers. The new extended I-to-I transfer area is another step towards enhancing the infrastructure and passenger experience at Delhi Airport. It will also help enhance the airport's operational efficiency," said I. Prabhakara Rao, Dy. Managing Director, GMR Group.

As part of the overall development plan under Phase 3A, DIAL has constructed the new and expanded T1 Apron, the 4th Runway, and dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT) to connect the Northern and Southern Airfields. DIAL has also undertaken Landside developments for circulation and connectivity improvements and T3 modification works.

(With inputs from IANS)