Pune: The new security hold area (SHA) at Lohegaon airport is expected to be commissioned by March 2026, airport director Santosh Dhoke told TOI on Friday.With a likely spike of around 15% in daily footfall, especially during the upcoming festive season, the new SHA will smoothen the flight movement and help authorities to manager passengers, he said.“The civil, electrical and other associated works are targeted for completion by Dec 31. Subsequently, necessary testing, regulatory clearances and other formalities shall be undertaken and the facility expected to be operational by March 2026. The new SHA will be helpful for flyers. The total area of the new terminal building will increase by 4,000 square metres once it is ready,” he said, adding that the new terminal building is presently spread across an area of 52,000 square metres.The new terminal has more than double area than the old building, which had a total size of 22,300 square metres.Sources in the airport said presently, on average, the daily passenger traffic at the airport rested at around 24,000 passengers. “The festive seasons, mainly Diwali, when we are expecting a 10%-15% rise on an average. However, the new building, which commenced operations in June 2024, can handle the increased traffic. In the last festive season, no problems were reported or observed due to increased traffic at the new building, which has served over 1 crore passengers during its first year. The new integrated SHA, however, will only add to the facilities, making it far more easier for flyers,” the official said.Dhoke said the new SHA will have many facilities. “The upgraded facility will feature 14 new check-in counters, 3 additional XBIS machines for security screening and two remote/bus boarding gates. The expansion aims to decongest passenger flow and make airport operations efficient and comfortable, particularly during peak festive seasons. With this enhancement, the annual handling capacity of the terminal will increase from 90 lakh passengers to 1.05 crore passengers,” he said.The new terminal building already has 10 aerobridges, 34 check-in counters, 25 self-check-in kiosks and five baggage carousels. In a recent talk, minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said the defence authorities were set to hand over 13 acres of land to the AAI by Oct, which will mainly be used for the construction of 5 new parking bays and 3 remote bays. Currently, the total flight movements are at around 200 and 15 new slots have recently been provided to airlines, which are expected to be taken up during the festive season and winter schedule.Prathav Sharan, an IT professional and a regular flyer, said, “Crowding at the airport doesn’t happen often nowadays, unlike to the situation that was at the old terminal building. Presently, the main problem is the cab pick-up facility at the AeroMall. This is the only thing which has been bothering flyers at the moment,” he said.
