PUNE: The new terminal building of the airport is likely to be complete by early 2021, top state government sources told TOI.The Airports Authority of India (AAI) began the construction of the new terminal building in mid-December last year. Pune airport director Ajay Kumar said the new building would be integrated with the existing building.It will be open for operation from 2021 onwards. Though no specific date has been mentioned by the officials, sources said that the building would be ready by the first quarter of 2021.Another source at the airport said that though a specific date cannot be given, the basic structure is expected to be ready by late 2020. “It may be possible to start flight operation once the new building is ready. The integration process will take place simultaneously.Going by the construction speed, we expect it to be complete by late next year,” an official said.The airport authorities have been drawing flak over the move to re-locate the cabs and auto rickshaw points from the arrival area to the parking lot number 2.Vehicle owners waiting for more than 3-minutes have to pay Rs340 and passengers have been demanding an immediate roll back of the new regulations.“The airport façade will also go through a major change as the construction of the new building progresses. Until the new building is up and running, we have to make constant changes and adjustments for two reasons — to ease congestion in and around the airport so that traffic issues can be streamlined and also to ensure that passengers get used to the new regulations. The airport premises, which include the front side façade, will go through a major change and, hence, it is important to prepare for the same,” another official said.Aviation experts, however, said that the changes should be passenger-friendly. “The walk from the arrival to parking number 2 is long because planning has not been done in a proper way. Positive changes are always welcome but that isn’t the case at Pune airport until now,” aviation analyst and expert Dhairyashil Vandekar told TOI.

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