02 January,2015 02:39 PM IST | | Neha LM Tripathi
Operations will move to level 3 in Terminal 2; Air India, Vistara and Jet Airways will operate their domestic sector here
Operations, level 3, Terminal 2, Air India, Vistara, Jet Airways, domestic sector, Mumbai, domestic terminal operations, T2
In the first six months of this year, operations of the domestic terminal will partly, and gradually, be shifted to Terminal 2 (T2). The national carrier Air India, and Vistara and Jet Airways will operate from this terminal.
Domestic operations will be shifted to Level 3 of T2 in July this year
It has been decided that only low-cost carriers without international connectivity will operate from the domestic terminal. Level 3 at T2, where the domestic operations will be shifted, will have only one huge Security Hold Area (SHA) compared to the domestic terminal, which had four and ended up confusing passengers.
Unlike the old domestic terminal, level 3 will have 24 Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMD) and 15 X-Ray machines. Though the domestic passengers will have a common check-in with international passengers from level 4, they will have to take either the elevator or the escalator down to the domestic (Level 3), after crossing the SHA. A help desk will also be located after the SHA.
Explained an airport official, "In the Santacruz domestic terminal, the number of SHAs puzzled first-timers. Here, there will be no confusion. The management staff will be available at the help desk to guide passengers 24x7." Vistara, a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines, will begin operations from January 9 at T2.
Its departures will happen from level 4 east side, which is dedicated to domestic operations while arrivals will be from Victor 4 (Aerobridge). These will also shift later to Level 3. A temporary arrangement has been made for the international-to-domestic transfer area for Vistara passengers, with a partition that will allow the domestic travellers to exit without chaos or confusion with the international passengers.
"When international passenger traffic increases, the partitions will be adjusted for easy and non-chaotic passenger movement. This arrangement will prevail till the formal inauguration of the domestic sector in July 2015," explained a senior airport official.
