10 February,2014 07:40 AM IST | | Neha LM Tripathi
27 have been installed for international passengers and 25 have been assigned for the domestic section, when it is opened in the future
When you land at or take off from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport's (CSIA) new terminal building referred to as T2, your feet won't be touching the tarmac.
The aerobridges at T2 will offer easy and convenient transit of passengers from the terminal building to the aircraft and vice versa. Pic/Rane Ashish
The T2 building has been fitted with two-tier aerobridges for the first time in the country, which, apart from offering convenient transit of passengers from the terminal building to the aircraft and vice versa, will also reduce the time taken from the aircraft to the baggage counters.
The two-tier aerobridges will help in management of two flights at the same time, which will enable arrival and departure of passengers simultaneously. The aerobridge will branch off in two directions to doors of two different aircraft. 52 such aerobridges have been installed at the new building and 27 will become operational when the T2 is thrown open on February 12.
The remaining 25 will be put to use when domestic flights start operating from T2 in the near future. "Considering T2's 40 million passenger handling capacity, the aerobridge will be very useful for efficiently handling the commuters.
It is not only the country's first ever facility, but it is also aimed at cutting passengers flight entry, exit time," said the official spokesperson of Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), a joint venture between the GVK led consortium and Airports Authority of India, which was awarded the mandate of modernising CSIA.
Earlier, passengers from some flights had to board a bus to their aircraft after which they had to use a flight of stairs, and it was also the case when they touched down at the airport. Apart from increasing the transit time, this was also a hindrance for disabled passengers, as their immobility prevented them from using stairs.
"Presently, after a flight lands it takes at least an hour for a passenger to reach the baggage carousel. However, with the aerobridges the time taken after disembarkation will be halved," said a flight attendant from one of the leading airlines.
