The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is mulling over the idea of building another separate terminal at the Jaipur terminal for VIPs after the Rajasthan government sent its suggestion for the same.
The state aircraft ferrying important persons from the ministry are currently operating from the state hangar. The VIPs and passengers use a common terminal at the Jaipur airport and travel.
The correspondence to Airport Authority highlighted that the state hangar is too small. Keeping this in mind, the AAI has offered a 2.5 crore land for mitigating the issue. However, the government has not responded yet,” officials privy to the council said.
What do officials say…
According to an AAI official, the VVIPs need a separate entry and exit due to ensure their security and this is not a case special to Jaipur but there are similar arrangements at some other state capitals like Lucknow. The separate entry and exit also prevent regular travellers from any inconvenience or delay due to security protocol, the official said.
“We are in talks with the government for allocation of 14 acres of land to expand the facilities at the airport, so the 2.5-acre land that we propose to allocate will also be adjusted against the land parcel,” he said.
Jaipur Airport Caters to a large audience
The Jaipur Airport caters a large number of passengers and is also well-maintained. In 2015-16, Jaipur airport witnessed 22,772 domestic aircraft movements in addition to other aircrafts which carry VIPs.
Estimated expenditure of the new terminal
The proposal is in its initial stage and hasn’t been chalked out completely. Hence, no cost has been estimated for building the new terminal Annexe. However, as far as sources are to be believed, the state government will bear the cost incurred for the construction of a new building.
Big no to high-rises
The AAI has dissented to construction of any high rises near the airport. It is posing a major threat to the flights and their operations.
