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Sat, Oct 12, 2024 | Rabi al-Thani 9, 1446 | DXB
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New terminal at Trivandrum airport becomes functional
TRIVANDRUM - The new international terminal of Trivandrum International Airport in Kerala became operational on Tuesday, making travel from the airport costly by Rs575 for departing international passengers.
The Airport Authority of India (AAI), which built the state-of-the-art terminal at a cost of Rs3 billion, is charging Rs575 as user development fee. The agency has set up a special counter at the terminal for collecting the fee.
The AAI was earlier allowed to collect Rs755 from each departing international passenger to recover the cost, but the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) Appellate Tribunal brought it down to Rs575 on an appeal moved by the state government.
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The passengers of the Dubai-bound flight of Air India Express (AIE) were the first to pay the user fee. AIE flight IX 536 from Sharjah was the first to dock at the terminal. The flight arrived at 6 pm. The Dubai flight left an hour later.
Airline officials briefed passengers about the new terminal and its various features. A Common Users Terminal Equipment (CUTE) that enables passengers to check in at any counter is the major attraction of the new terminal.
Baggage clearance has been made easy by connecting the X-ray baggage examination facility at the terminal to the departure conveyor. This will also enable passengers to check-in before the journey.
A round the cloak wi-fi connectivity, three aerobridges and eight parking bays are among the other features of the new terminal. The terminal is also closer to the capital city by 4-5 kilometres. The entrance and exit to the new terminal is through a newly built over-bridge in the Kovalam route.
Passengers can buy the tickets of different service providers from the entrance of the airport itself. A glass house has been set up in front of the terminal for the purpose. After check-in and security checks, passengers can rest in the state-of-the-art lounge and wait for the announcement of the flight.
The lounge has been especially designed to offer a view of the old terminal, the sea and the picturesque visuals around. The duty paid shops and other commercial outlets too are available in the lounge.
The terminal has the potential to be developed as a multi-model transport hub with access to air, rail, road, inland waterway and sea transport. The AAI proposes to construct a rail line with a halt at Chacka to give easy access to travellers from any part of the state.
Dredging and widening of an 8-km stretch of the Parvathi Puthanar from Kovalam to the airport will link the airport to the inland waterways and it would offer the tourists a unique option of using boats to go to the beach resort and come back to the airport.
The project provides for a check-in counter at Kovalam so that the passengers can straight away walk to departure terminal. If the waterway further north is made navigational with new bridges, tourists can ride houseboats from the backwaters anywhere in the state.
The proposal also provides for an access point at Vizhinjam port, which is proposed to be developed as international transhipment terminal, so that the airport can be linked to the sea route.
— devasia@khaleejtimes.com
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