New arrival terminal at Delhi airport's T1 to be operational from Thursday

The newly-constructed arrival terminal at T1 of the airport in the national capital will be operational from Thursday.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), operated by DIAL, has three terminals -- T1, T2 and T3.

The state-of-the-art arrival facility is set to receive passengers from IndiGo's flight from Goa, 6E-6532. It is scheduled to arrive at around 3.20 am on February 24, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a statement on Wednesday.

With the opening of the new arrival hall, the entire arrivals operations of T1 will shift from the existing facility to the new one.

Currently, IndiGo and SpiceJet operate flights from T1.

Departure operations, however, will continue from the existing terminal, and will eventually be integrated with the new arrivals hall post completion of the expansion works, the statement said.

Developed by DIAL, the new arrival terminal is part of Delhi Airport's ongoing phase 3A expansion project.

DIAL said the facility would offer a distinctive experience with a contemporary 'meet and greet' zone, plush forecourt area, including landscaping and kiosks for food and beverage, retail and expanded parking area for cars.

On the city side, the pickup lanes outside the arrival terminal have been realigned and widened with three additional lanes, taking the total number of lanes to 11, the airport operator said. Such an arrangement will ease vehicle traffic congestion and significantly improve passenger experience and convenience during pickup, it added.

In line with DIAL's green initiatives, the new arrival terminal has been built as a green building, keeping globally renowned LEED green building standards in mind, the statement said.

LEED provides a framework for healthy, efficient, carbon and cost-saving green buildings. As part of it, DIAL has used the daylight concept in the terminal building, which will reduce electricity consumption, as there will be ample natural light during the day.