Mangalore: New terminal to be opened in 10 days

The Hindu

• Date to be fixed by local airport authorities 

Mangalore, 23 June 2010: Director of the Mangalore airport Peter Abraham has said that the new integrated terminal building of the airport will be opened for passenger traffic in the next 10 days.

Speaking to The Hindu on Tuesday, a month after the May 22 crash of the Air India Express flight from Dubai, Mr. Abraham said that the opening of the new terminal was scheduled for June 1. “But the circumstances that prevailed in the aftermath of the crash prevented us from opening the terminal,” he said.

The date of commissioning would be decided by the local authorities in consultation with the regional headquarters of the Airports Authority of India at Chennai. The only aspect that was currently holding up the opening was the construction of a standby road, which would take another week, Mr. Abraham said.

The 360-m road, which would provide an alternate passage to the airport, is being built at the south-east end of the airport, abutting the now-abandoned Dakkan Hotel. Built at a cost of Rs. 35 lakh, this road will connect the airport to the Bajpe main road, via the Kenjar gram panchayat. This road will be used in emergencies only. Otherwise, it will remain closed.

ILS functional

The Instrument Landing System at the airport has been repaired and reinstalled. The ILS could not be used after the plane crashed into one of its crucial components on May 22. The ILS was re-commissioned on June 16, Mr. Abraham said.

Salvaging the wreck

There is still no clarity on when the wreckage of the plane will be removed from the crash site. While Mr. Abraham said that it was the responsibility of the airline to conduct the salvage, Station Manger of Air India Chellam Prasad said that the airline did not have the written clearance from the Airports Authority of India to go ahead. Mr. Abraham said that the airline was free to build a temporary shelter, next to the old engineering office near the new terminal building, whenever it wished.