ETW Staff – Mumbai
GVK Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai is all geared up for the commencement of its phase-wise planned transition to Terminal 2. As part of the transition plan, GoAir will be relocating its departure operations to Terminal 1B (Gate 2) from Friday, September 25, 2015. The shifting of all its operations will commence with GoAir, flight no. G8 305 to Chennai at 04:45 hours from Terminal 1B. GoAir Arrivals will however continue from Terminal 1A till the beginning of the second phase of relocation.
As part of the same first phase, the national carrier, Air India will commence all its domestic operations from Terminal 2 effective Thursday, October 1, 2015. The transition will begin with the departure of Air India, flight no. AI 627 to Nagpur at 0555 hours and arrival of flight no. AI 695 from Hyderabad at 07:45 hours. T2 currently, is already home to Air India’s international flight operations.
To enable these transitions, while GoAir is already familiar with operational Terminal 1B, Terminal 2 went through a comprehensive security sweep as well as the final stages of AOR (Airport Operational Readiness) for the domestic operations of Air India, keeping in mind the shifting of operations to a different Terminal. GVK CSIA also undertook familiarization processes for T2 for its ground handling staff, security and the employees, to help get them acquainted with the new technologically advanced systems, facilities and processes for smooth and seamless transition of all stakeholders from T1 to T2.
All domestic passengers of Air India travelling by chauffer driven cars or taxis can access Terminal 2 through the Sahar elevated access road. The Sahar elevated access road, which can be accessed by all private vehicles, taxis and special coaches is a dedicated corridor for passengers to reach Terminal 2. It offers seamless and signal–less connectivity from the Western Express Highway to T2 thereby shortening the distance and travel time by about half an hour. All two wheelers, three wheelers, city buses will access Terminal 2 by using a dedicated lane through the existing Sahar road and reach their earmarked area. For passengers coming from Central Mumbai, the Up ramp of the elevated road near Ambassador Flight Kitchen will help to access T2, while the Down ramp will enable traffic to exit T2. Terminal 2 being an integrated terminal, the domestic passengers will have to come a bit early to avoid any inconvenience.