Hyderabad Airport expansion kicks in, to handle 20 mn passengers in FY19

Designed for a capacity of 12 million, it is currently handling 18 million passengers per year

Hyderabad International Airport is projected to handle 20 million passengers during the current financial year as it embarks on an expansion that will take its overall capacity to 40 million passengers per annum.

To facilitate the expansion works, the airport operator on Wednesday inaugurated interim international departures terminal, which will become operational from Oct 23.

Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey inaugurated the facility, an exclusive concourse to handle check-in, security, immigration and custom processes for departing international passengers.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd CEO S.G.K. Kishore said the interim terminal with one lakh square feet space was built at a cost of less than Rs 50 crore. Built with pre-engineering technology, the structure has come up in less than seven months.

The interim terminal is aimed at ensuring expansion of the capacity without hampering growth.

One of India's modern world-class airports built in public-private partnership, it completed 10 years in March, 2018. Designed for a capacity of 12 million, it is currently handling 18 million passengers per annum.

Kishore said Hyderabad had been fastest growing airport over the last 3-4 years. "In 2015 we celebrated 10 million passengers. We have almost doubled this year and by March next we would have handled 20 million passengers," he said.

The expansion works, which will take the overall capacity to 34-40 million passengers, are likely to be completed in 2-3 years. By the time the expansion is completed, the passenger traffic may touch 24-27 million.

Hyderabad Airport had crossed 20 per cent growth in domestic passenger traffic and with international passenger traffic, the airport has been growing at around 20 per cent annually for last three years.

On the airside, Kishore said, the airport was handling 36 movements an hour and they plan to take it to 52 movements an hour.

In 2019 a new initiative called Digi Yatra will be introduced at some major airports, which will ensure that a passenger enters the airport with a mobile phone in his hand and a smile on his face, Choubey said.

He said a separate Aadhaar-like platform would be created with systems connected with airline database, airport database, physical features and facial database. This will allow 'pre-checked' passengers to pass through entry, self check-in counter, baggage drop and boarding gate without any human interface.

Telangana Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi and GMR Group Business Chairman, (Airports) G.B.S. Raju were also present.