By IANS,
New Delhi : With the newly-built departure terminal at Delhi airport set to be opened in the first week of April, India’s national carrier Air India Friday said it would not shift its operations to the new terminal.
“We will continue to operate from the existing 1A terminal,” an Air India spokesperson told IANS.
Airport officials said all other airlines, including low-cost carries, have already started shifting their operations to the new terminal 1D.
The 1D terminal, set up at an investment of Rs.5 billion (Rs.500 crore), will be capable of handling all outbound domestic passengers. It was inaugurated Feb 26 by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel.
A spokesperson of Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which operates Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, also confirmed that Air India would continue operating from the 1A terminal.
The three full-fledged carriers, Air India, Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways, are not willing to shift to terminal 1D as they will have to shift to the T3 – the upcoming integrated terminal – next year, officials said.
Once the T3 terminal is operational, the 1D would be left for budget carriers.
“Air India can retain its operations in the existing terminal as it is a state-run company. Private airlines cannot do that,” an airline official told IANS.