Monday, May 23, 2011

Interlink at airport may be opened for public

To generate revenue and commercialise India’s first underground interlink between the domestic and International Airports, the AAI is planning to open it for everybody at a nominal cost.



If everything goes as per the plan of Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials at Ahmedabad airport, people coming to receive or see off their loved ones could get a feel of the Rs 80-crore, 400-metre long interlink, India’s first underground link between both the domestic and international terminals, at a nominal cost.

It was in July 2010, when the swanky international terminal costing Rs 310 crore was thrown open, the interlink which connects the international terminal (T2) with the domestic terminal (T1) was also inaugurated. But till date the interlink is lying idle. Now, the AAI officials are planning to open it for the general public that comes to the airport. The original idea was to allow only passengers who have connecting domestic or international flights from the airport to use the interlink.

“In 2010, when the building was inaugurated, the AAI expected effective utilisation of the interlink because in the first two months of the financial year 2010 Ahmedabad airport registered a growth of 27.8 per cent compared to the national average of 16.2 per cent. The authority is now planning to open the interlink for the general public as they are not getting enough passengers who genuinely need it and it’s just lying idle. AAI has spent Rs 80-crore on it and they need to generate the income,” said an airport official.


                                              
The interlink which has six travellators installed, three on each side, is 11 metres wide. The fully  air-conditioned   interlink also has place on both sides for people who wish to walk


 Also at evening time, hundreds of people come to the airport to take a walk. The greenery in the area and the well-maintained gardens are an attraction. They too might be interested in experiencing the underground interlink, the official believes.

The interlink which has six travellators installed, three on each side, is 11 metres wide. The fully air-conditioned interlink also has place on both sides for people who wish to walk. The three travellators are installed as some distance from each other so that if a person wants to stop for a while in between he can exit the travellator and later on get on to the next travellator. Attractive false ceiling and a water body on one side of the travellator are added attractions.





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