Stuck leaving airport? Now enter & exit from two separate floors

Bhopal: If you have been flying in and out of Bhopal, this would have been a situation you hated – Swarms of passengers jostling for space right outside departure gate waiting for cars to pick them or radio cabs to arrive. And not to forget the harrowing experience of navigating to your vehicle with luggage in hand on a road crammed with vehicles. Now, a redesigned passenger terminal building at the city's Raja Bhoj Airport -- that would have two separate floors exclusively for arrival and departure – will soon make getting in and leaving the airport a breeze. The new design would also bring in increase in number of check-in counters, expansion of security screening capacity and a more spacious post-screening waiting area. Officials said the new facility will open soon, promising smoother passenger flow and reduced bottlenecks. "The renovation work would expand passenger capacity, fix traffic snarls, boost visitor experience, and sharpen operations," airport director Ramjee Awasthi said. The present single-floor set up for both arrivals and departures leads to chaos, especially during simultaneous landing of flights, clogging exit from the departure zone and also causing problems at arrival gate. The revamp would separate the arrival hall in the ground floor from departures above. Airport authorities said the project aligns with BCAS ( bureau of civil aviation security) guidelines and peak hour passenger (PHP) assessments. "The existing terminal, originally designed to handle 1,200 passengers during peak hours, will see its capacity more than double to 2,600 passengers post-upgrade, ensuring readiness for future growth in air traffic," Awasthi added. A major feature of the initiative is the comprehensive enhancement of passenger processing infrastructure. While the number of check-in counters will increase from 14 to 32, boosting processing capability and reducing waiting time for travellers, domestic security screening capacity will be significantly strengthened, with the number of X-ray baggage inspection systems (X-BIS) expanding from two to eight, including integration of the existing units into the upgraded layout. To further enhance passenger comfort, the security hold area (SHA) on the first floor is being expanded through the construction of an additional deck slab. This upgrade will substantially improve post-security seating capacity and comfort during peak operating periods. With arrivals now relocated to the lower ground floor, the newly available space in the current terminal is being repurposed to further decongest the departure hall and streamline passenger flow, resulting in greater operational efficiency. Currently, the airport handles around 2.5 million passengers annually against a designed capacity of 3.5 million. The ongoing reconfiguration of departure facilities is expected to enhance the airport's capacity to accommodate growing passenger volumes while upholding standards of safety.