Anticipating the increase of passenger footfall in the future, Dehradun Airport is gearing up for a makeover. According to the Airport Authority of India (AAI), the 353-crore renovation will include a new domestic terminal and a utility block with facilities such as car park area, rainwater harvesting provisions and sewage treatment plant.
The new terminal will spread across 42,777 square kilometres and will be capable of handling up to 1800 passengers during peak hours. Such an expansion will increase the capacity of Dehradun airport by eight-fold. There will be an arrival lounge, 36 check-in counters, self-check-in kiosks, security area, four aerobridges and inline baggage screening facility. Retail shops are also planned to generate additional revenue.
AAI plans to theme the new terminal with the cultural and heritage of Uttarakhand. The arrangements will be sustainable with the solar power system, a double-curved roof for rainwater harvesting and sewage treatment plants. Use of plenty of natural light is proposed as a part of the design, ensuring further energy efficiency.
The authorities plan to complete 80 percent of the work in the first phase. The second phase of development will primarily include shifting of operations to the new terminal. The project is likely to be ready by October 21, 2020. However, the ongoing work under phase I will be commissioned by March 2021.
Airlines operate on load penalty at Dehradun airport
Due to short runways, the airlines are currently operating flights on load penalty in Dehradun airport. They run at least 10-15 percent less than the full capacity of fuel and cargo. The current length of runways at Dehradun airport is 2,140 meters. AAI has proposed to add another 625 meters stretch. However, Uttarakhand Government is yet to transfer the proposed 243 acres of land to the Airport Authorities of India for the extension of the runway. The authorities expect to get the land by 2021.
Dehradun airport is situated 27 kilometres away from the city. The airport has flights connecting all major cities of India including Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pantnagar, Varanasi, Pithoragarh, Lucknow and Jaipur.
The airport is equipped with modern navigational facilities such as DVOR facilitating aircraft routing and homing, CAT-I ILS system and INDRA ATS Automation System.
