Pune to Allahabad and Hubali flights very soon

12/2/2018

PUNE: Three new flights will soon be connecting Pune to Hubballi in neighbouring Karnataka and Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. The authorities at the Pune airport are open to the idea of more new flights, provided slots for the same are provided.

"We are always open to any new flight to and from the airport. Under the second phase of the regional connectivity scheme, Pune will be connected to two cities, namely, Hubballi (2 flights) and Allahabad (one flight). However, the airlines' need slots for operations and they need to apply for the same at the AAI headquarters," an airport official told pune-news.com.

With the number of flights steadily going up, the number of passengers too is expected to go up. In fact, as per projections, the airport, which currently handles about 8 million passengers, will be handling 16 million passengers by 2023. Authorities said the airport has already started preparing for that and has initiated several projects.

"The AAI has approved the design of the new terminal building, and we plan to complete it and make it operational by 2022 or 2023. Once the new terminal building is ready, the capacity of the airport will be around 20 million passengers per annum," an official said.

By 2023, the airport will have many other state-of-the-art facilities as well, officials said. While a multi-storeyed parking lot is expected to be ready by June next year, three new aerobridges will be operational by June this year.

"The present terminal building and the new one will be interconnected with the help of a skywalk or a similar structure. Passenger services will be seamless. A new security hold area is also coming up. The apron area is getting expanded and the issue of aircraft parking will soon be resolved. Five new parking bays should be ready by October this year, which will help more aircraft landing and taking off from the airport. There are also talks to extend the runway to the eastern side," an official said.

The officials also pointed out that the airport's income too has witnessed a steady rise, and it will reflect on the quality of services provided.