Ghaziabad: The Hindon civil terminal in Ghaziabad will add parking bays and use its own air traffic control, the biggest problems that have come in the way of airlines running more services from here, as the local administration and civil aviation ministry step up efforts to retain it as a convenient third option for fliers in Delhi-NCR, who will from Monday have two international airports to choose from as Noida airport becomes operational.Hindon’s strength is its location. Situated in the middle of Ghaziabad, it has seen high demand for seats since Air Indian Express and then IndiGo launched flights. AI Express has pulled out, but IndiGo continues to run flights to major cities. The terminal ‘s director said on Sunday they are keen to add flights in the second half of the year when infrastructure augmentation is completed.By Aug 15, the terminal building will grow by 700 square metres, enabling creation of space for additional flights. Significantly, it’s a deal with the defence ministry that will help add 6,210 sq m, raising parking capacity from the current two bays to six. With the expansion, the parking constraint, which has capped the number of flights Hindon can handle will largely be resolved.The expansion will make it stronger as an alternative to IGIA and NIA. “The terminal will be able to handle about 22 flights and over 500 passengers per hour (after the capacity addition),” said Chilaka Mahesh, director of Hindon civil terminal, speaking on the eve of Yatri Suvidha Diwas that is to be observed at the terminal on Monday. The terminal handled a peak of 22 flights per day, but it led to congestion, delays and cancellations as well because of the constraints of parking aircraft, dependence on IGI ATC, and restrictions in flight operations after evening.The four additional bays leased from Indian Air Force (IAF), which operates the Hindon air base, will give the terminal ability to run back-to-back flights without disruption even if an aircraft is grounded due to a technical issue.Passengers will also benefit from eased timing restrictions. The ministry has given in-principle approval for mixed flight timings, effectively allowing operations beyond the IAF’s current dawn-to-dusk window. Hindon will either establish its own ATC or use the IAF’s, staffed by retired IAF officials. A formal presentation of the expansion plan to officials from both the civil aviation and defence ministries is scheduled for Tuesday.Inside the terminal, check-in counters will increase from nine to 12, and the vehicle kerb area will more than double — from 3.5m to 8m — easing drop-off and pick-up congestion that travellers currently encounter.Longer term, of the 14.8 acres earmarked for expansion, consent has been obtained for 6.8 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 70 crore, with land acquisition expected shortly.Currently, Hindon operates eight flights on routes to Varanasi, Navi Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata via IndiGo, and to Adampur, Kishangarh and Nanded via Star Air.
