Come October 1st Air India operations for domestic is scheduled to move to the international terminal better known as T2, this means more passengers taking domestic flights from Mumbai will be able to use the swanky T2. At present, Vistara, which started operations in January, is the only domestic airline to function out of T2. The other three domestic airlines operating from old domestic terminal are likely to move in by January 2016, said airport sources. According to an airport official, “Our counters are ready and the airlines have been allotted space and other facilities. The shifting will happen in the next couple of days,” said an airport official. But the customs department are telling a different story, “Where is the space? We do not have area space for baggage counters and other facilities, they will have to use the same space allotted to international travellers,” informs a senior customs official without revealing his name. Remarks Saurabh Gupta a regular domestic flier, “The idea of having one airport for both international and domestic travellers is not new, we should have done this earlier.” Agrees Rajini Patel, “This will be very handy for passengers as they don’t have to go all the way to Vile Parle to take domestic flights.”
While fliers travelling abroad are already using a section of T2, the areas kept for domestic operations are yet to open. According to airport sources, currently, only the southwest pier — one of two arms of the X-shaped terminal — is operational. Domestic operations will move inside the southeast pier, which now looks like an amputated arm. The arm was chopped off on the drawing board as a portion of the proposed space is encroached on by slums.
T2 is a one-of-its-kind vertical airport terminal in the country with a capacity to handle 40 million passengers in a year. It has 188 check-in counters, 141 immigration counters, 10 baggage carousels and a multi-level car park for 5,000 vehicles.
It also houses the country’s largest public art collection called ‘Jaya He’. The art wall has 7,000 artifacts from across the country.
