TrafficInfraTech Magazine Linking People Places & Progress
The new gateway to India – Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport – commissioned in July this year, has set new global benchmarks in the aviation industry. After Dubai and Beijing, T3 is the world’s third largest terminal in terms of size. With many firsts to its credit, the $3 billion terminal spread over 5.2 million sqft has more than 168 check-in counters to handle 34 million passengers a year, 78 aerobridges, 48 boarding gates, 30 parking bays, advanced five-level in-line Baggage Handling System with a capacity to handle 12,800 bags per hour and 6.4km of conveyor belts, longest travelator or walkway of 118m and more than 65 elevators and multi-level car parking with a capacity of 4300 cars and surface parking for 2,200 cars. The Terminal is connected by an eight-lane approach road that comes in from the Delhi-Gurgaon-Jaipur NH8 and with the completion of the underground metro station coming up at T3, the Delhi Metro Airport Express Line will considerably reduce transit time. A dedicated metro train will travel at high speed to the airport from New Delhi Railway station via Rajiv Chowk metro station and Dhaula Kuan to T3. Passengers would be able to check in at the metro station itself. The train pulling up near the multi-level parking at T3 connects passengers to the main terminal with air-conditioned travelators.
The sprawling domestic and international boarding piers are each 1.2km long but the distance a passenger has to walk has been reduced with travelators. The new ATC tower, being built at the IGIA by the Airports Authority of India will be about 90-95m in height – taller than even the famous Qutub Minar. The tower has been designed by Hong Kong-based HOK International and it has a central lift. It will be built between the existing ATC tower and the newly opened Terminal 3. The construction of the tower will be completed in two years.
The sophisticated traffic management system at the IGIA uses the AutoTrac III installed by Raytheon Company, USA and features a new generation of flight and surveillance data processing systems to ensure air traffic safety. The Air Traffic Management (ATM) system provides a complete solution for all domains, including Tower, Terminal, EnRoute, Oceanic, Procedural, Airspace Management and Flow Control. Raytheon has also won AAI contract to automate air traffic control services at the Chennai International Airport.
