Unbelievable! Pune Airport Awaits CISF To Start Flying

A new terminal at Pune International Airport had been in the works for years and was finally inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on March 11, 2024. The terminal was to have a considerably larger capacity and upgraded facilities, easing the crowd control situation at Pune International Airport. At the inauguration ceremony, the authorities assured the passengers that the new terminal would be “operational within four to five weeks after getting approvals from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.” Cut to today when it has been three months since the inauguration ceremony, and yet there is no news on the terminal kickstarting its operations.

The Terminal Issue

The passengers at Pune International Airport have continued to voice out their anger about the congestion and subpar facilities at the airport, which only seems to be getting worse day by day. Just in May, the AC at Pune Airport stopped working for around four days, causing an uproar among the passengers who were suffering in the summer heat. The new terminal was supposed to relieve the situation, and even Maharashtra’s deputy CM, Ajit Pawar, asked the airport administration to “expedite the process and commence the operations by April 1”, reported The Indian Express. However, the situation has remained the same.

The Cause of Delay

As an answer, the Airports Authority of India has stated that though the Pune International Airport has received the needed approvals for operational value, the terminal stays held up because of the lack of additional CISF personnel required to meet the airport's demand.

Santosh Dhoke, director, Pune International Airport, told The Indian Express, “We are waiting for CISF reinforcement. We have requested 231 additional CISF personnel and once we get them, we will start shifting to the new terminal. All other approvals including security clearance and clearance for food and beverage stalls have been received. Since it is a bigger building, we need more men on the ground. Also, we will be shifting in phases. For some transitional period, both the terminal buildings will be operational, making the requirement of the additional security more pressing than ever. The day we get the additional CISF personnel, we will start the work to operationalise the new terminal building. The temporary solution could be to reduce the flights. But that would mean that the flight tickets will become more expensive and it will hurt the passengers. There will be considerable relief to the flyers when the new terminal building opens as it is much larger and has state-of-the-art facilities.”

According to Dhoke, the new terminal has an annual capacity of 9 million passengers and a peak capacity of 3000 passengers. It cost around ₹432 crore and has a built-up area of 51,595 square metres.

As per earlier reports, the redevelopment plans for the old terminal building were set to begin in June with a budget of around ₹25 crore.