Delhi T3 out of bounds for LCCs till March

Domestic passengers flying out of the Delhi airport in a low-cost carrier may have to wait till next March before they could use the new Terminal 3 (T3).

On the other hand, Air India and Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and their low-cost subsidiaries will be shifting to the new terminal next month. International operations will shift to the new terminal from this month end.

“The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has conveyed to us that we will be shifted to the new terminal by March next year,” said a senior executive at a low-cost airline. SpiceJet, IndiGo, GoAir and Paramount Airways are the low-cost carriers (LCCs).

LCCs said apart from higher charges, which they had to fork out, there was also fear they might lose their on-time performance records. “All of us (LCCs) do not want to shift to the new terminal because of various reasons, one of them being the high cost of services. Also, shifting to a swanky terminal may impact our on-time performance because of the extra check-in procedure time at the new terminal,” said a senior GoAir Executive on condition of anonymity.

A senior SpiceJet executive said charges for using the new terminal were much more than the existing ones and they would be forced to use aerobridges and pay more for the new airport service systems.

The full-service carriers and their low-cost subsidiaries will start operating from the new terminal from August 27 and the LCCs will continue to operate from Terminal 1D. GoAir, which operates from Terminal 1A, will also shift to terminal 1D.

However, sources at full-service airlines said there were issues with the terminal. “There was no proving flight, airline offices are not ready and above all, the lounges are also not ready,” said a senior executive at a full-service carrier.

The executive also said that it was very unlikely that T3 would be able to start operations on the new date.

Sources in DIAL agreed that many full-service airlines had opposed the steep cost of most of the services, which would be provided. “I can’t say how much increase in operating an aircraft it will mean, but it is substantial. You have to pay for better facilities. So, negotiations are on.”

On July 14, the earlier date of starting international operations, only seven arrivals and departures, led by AI 102 from Washington, will take place. The next day, the world’s biggest passenger aircraft, the Airbus 380, will arrive at the airport for a trial flight, a first for India.