In a watershed moment, Chaudhary Charan Singh International (CCSI) Airport, on Sunday commenced operations from the newly-built New Integrated Terminal 3 (T3).

On the first day of operations, T3 managed eight domestic flights operated by Akasa Air. The terminal was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 10th March 2024.

Built at a cost of Rs 2,400 crore, Terminal 3 can manage 80 lakh passengers per year, at present and at the end of Phase 2 the capacity will go up to 1.3 crore passengers per year.

On the momentous day, the airport, began the operations by cutting the cake and gifting goodies to passengers travelling through the first departing flight QP1526 from Lucknow to Bengaluru. The Airport also gave goodies to the passengers arriving on the first flight.

Akasa Air operated both the arriving and departing flights with almost 100 per cent load factor. The airline operated three scheduled flights – two to Bengaluru and one to Mumbai. Akasa Air also operated on Chartered flight to Bengaluru. On the first day, over 1200 passengers travelled through the newly build terminal and experienced the hospitality.

Announcing the commencement of operations, the CCSI Airport spokesperson said, “Terminal 3 began operations with the world-class infrastructure from Sunday, with an emphasis on enhancing passenger experience. Lucknow Airport deployed over 50 Customer Service Associates and signages at strategic decision-making points to ensure that all the Akasa Airlines passengers do not miss their flight and reach Terminal 3, on time. The airport also handled operations from the existing Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 smoothly.”

“Lucknow Airport also inaugurated Indigo Airlines new flight to Bhopal from Terminal 2,” Spokesperson added.

The Terminal 3 of the CCSI Airport has various key features to provide seamless experience to flyers including DigiYatra, adequate check-in counters, common use self-service kiosks, self-baggage drop, automated tray retrieval systems, advanced baggage screening machines. baggage reclaim belts and aerobridges and additional parking bays for aircraft.

The newly-constructed apron will increase the passenger boarding gates from 7 to 13 and passenger boarding bridges from 2 to 7. At present, the airport connects 29 domestic and 8 international destinations. The capacity augmentation will help to improve Terminal 3’s operational efficiency.

An out-of-the-world audio-visual experience has been brought to life at the airport with the art and architecture of Uttar Pradesh, starting from the entry gates to the skylight. The check-in counters will mesmerise passengers with illuminated motifs of ‘Chikankari’ and ‘Mukaish’ embroidery. Graphics on the frosting depict stories from epics, such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The Terminal 3 has several sustainability features and adequate deployment of recyclable materials like rainwater harvesting wells, sewage treatment plant, solar power, among others. It will be a multi-modal travel hub with metro connectivity, intercity electric bus service, and app-based taxi services.