Surat: If all goes well, Surat airport terminal will become bigger and better in the coming months.After a long delay, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has issued a tender inviting applications from bidders for taking up modification in the existing terminal building to create additional area for passengers at the airport.The AAI has earmarked Rs4 crore for modification of the existing terminal building to create amenities for passengers.The expansion of the terminal building is likely to be taken up in the second phase. However, internal modification of the existing terminal building will cause inconvenience to airline staff as well as passengers, sources said.There is available space inside the terminal building including open to sky (OTS) at the departure and arrival sections and VIP room. Also, there is a possibility of modification on the first floor facing the front porch of the airport.Airport activist Rajesh Modi said, “We were hoping to see tender for terminal building expansion, but the AAI has issued the tender for internal modification. At present, the airport is bursting at its seams and any modification will only cause problems to the passengers and the airline staff.”The AAI has earmarked Rs250 crore for the development of Surat airport and expanding international operations. In a document sought under Right to Information (RTI) Act, AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra had written to Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in May 2018 stating that necessary fund allocation for the development of Surat airport has been proposed.At present, the airport handles about 42 flight movements-arrival and departure- per day to various destinations, operated by SpiceJet, AirAsia, IndiGo and Air India. About 2,500 passengers travel daily to and from Surat airport, against the capacity of the terminal building to handle 250 passengers per hour.

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