Gf1011 visits the new integrated terminal at Chandigarh (IXC) and comes away feeling impressed.
Chandigarh Airport. A walkthrough
Chandigarh is the capital of the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh Airport (IXC)
is located in Sector 17, around 14 kilometres from city centre. the airport operates as a civil enclave, meaning the runway and other air-side infrastructure are controlled by the Indian Air Force and that all civilian operations are run from a small plot adjacent to the military airfield allocated specifically for carrying out civil aviation activites. This 'enclave' is managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is a Public sector undertaking (PSU) of the Government of India. IXC's new terminal technically lies in Punjab State, outside Chandigarh City limits, hence, it's officially called International Airport, Mohali, causing much political grinding of teeth!
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| Approaching IXC's new integrated terminal |
This terminal is India's first civil enclave terminal with vertical separation of Arrivals and Departures. Previously AAI would build the two sections side by side, leading to a waste of real estate, although being cheaper to construct.
A two lane ramp leads to the departures forecourt. International and domestic departures have separate entrances.
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| Ramp leading up to the Departures fore-court at IXC |
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| Departures forecourt at IXC |
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| Signage at IXC |
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City-side Facade seen from the Arrivals level
A large arrivals forecourt, sheltered by the departures forecourt above, protects the 'meet-n-greet' crowd from the elements..
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| Arrivals forecourt at IXC |
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This new integrated terminal building was inaugurated in September 2015. The eco-friendly terminal was built by Larsen & Toubro and covers 53,000 square metres and is designed to handle 1,600 passengers per hour. After the customary checking of ID and tickets, one enters the spacious Check-in hall. AAI seems to have learned a lot about terminal design in the last few decades.. We noticed that AAI had made provisions for future expansions everywhere, a departure from old school AAI design philosophies. However, the terminal does not have an 'inline baggage scanning" facility (even for internationals). This means that all passengers have to pass their check-in luggage through an X-Ray machine before checking it in with the airline.
The Check-in hall has 6 islands. IndiGo uses Island A on the left, 9W uses C while Check-in for the international flights were being handled from E on the far right.. Domestic pax proceed for Security check between islands C and D, while international SC is between E and F.
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| Check-in hall panorama |
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| Check-in Island - IXC |
AAI has provided for the addition of more Security check counters in the future between Islands A and B (as can be seen in the above image as a transparent partition on the right, with the standard AAI 'solid red circle'). Past security check, passengers are ushered into the 'Security hold' area before boarding their flights. This area has ample seating and also some F&B and retail outlets.
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| Shopping at IXC departures |
Ample seating in the upper level, meant for the two aerobridge gates (Gate 1 and 5). International gates can be seen in the far background.
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| Seating in Domestic departures at IXC |
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| Seating in IXC: Domestic departures |
Gates 3 & 4 are Domestic bus gates downstairs, and have a large dedicated waiting area on the ground floor. There are no F&B options here. Note more transparent partitions separating the domestic bus gates from intl. bus gates for future expansion.
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| Waiting area for remote gates |
The new terminal was built keeping future expansion in mind. The terminal has three aero-bridges, Two dedicated for Domestic ops, One for International. The two in the next image are for domestic flights. Apart from the the three contact stands that have aerobridges, the apron has an additional 10 remote parking bays.
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| Aerobridges at IXC |
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| Airside view of IXC terminal |
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| 6E A320 parked at IXC |
Arrivals Section
The new terminal is a good effort at landscaping inside the terminal, as well as an attempt to increase natural lighting, contributing to its eco-friendliness.
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| Garden inside IXC |
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| Heading towards Baggage Reclaim |
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| FIDS at IXC |
In the Arrivals section, IXC has four baggage belts, fed from a management system underneath the hall.. Belts 1 and 2 are for Domestic. 3 and 4 are for International. The way IXC is growing, they should have made provisions for making belt No. 3 available to domestic pax in the future.. Many of the baggage trolleys seem to be from the older terminal. Cant say how many are new, perhaps the new ones were placed in the international section.. All in all, a very good effort by AAI in developing the terminal.
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| Baggage Belts at IXC |
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| Baggage Trolleys |
