New Mumbai airport terminal to open Wednesday (With Imagaes)

A month after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Terminal 2 of Chhhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) here will commence operations from Wednesday, an official said here Monday.

The first incoming flight to T-2 will be an Air India Singapore-Mumbai service Wednesday afternoon, while the first departure will be a Jet Airways Mumbai-London Heathrow, a GVK-Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) spokesperson said.

All international flights' departure before 1 p.m. will be from the existing old terminal and all departures after 1 p.m. will be operated from the new terminal, the spokesperson said.

Similarly, all incoming flights before noon would be from the old terminal and all arrivals after noon will be from T-2.

Post-inauguration Jan 10, the T-2 has undergone a comprehensive security sweep as well as final stages of Operational Readiness Activation and Transition (ORAT) exercises.

Under ORAT, MIAL undertook familiarisation processes for airlines, ground handling staff, security, customs, immigration and employees to get them acquainted with the terminal building, its new technologically advances systems, facilities and process for smooth and seamless transition of all stakeholders from the old international terminal to swanky new T-2.

In addition to experiencing the new T-2, all international passengers arriving at the CSIA would drive on the new Sahar Elevated Access Road at Level 4, a new dedicated road for all private vehicles, cabs and special coaches.

The new SEAR offers seamless and signal-free connectivity from Western Express Highway, cutting the travel time by around 30 minutes.

Spread over 4.40 million square feet, the compact T-2 sets global benchmarks in airport infrastructure development, with a capacity to handle 40 million passengers annually.

It also features India's largest public art gallery, 'Jaya He' in the form of a three-km long Art Wall, illuminated by skylights with over 5,000 artworks and artefacts from all over the country.