The new airport in the Punjab capital is a futurustic mini-city that is more than merely a place to land and take-off
ALTHOUGH I am a Karachiite with roots firmly entrenched in the port city, I have more than an average fascination for Lahore. Its history, architecture, culture and above all people curiously interlace to give birth to a unique ambience. And for those who like good food, this city has a lot to offer. So a visit to the food street at Gowaal Mandi with my friend Ashraf Shad is always high on the agenda whenever I am in Lahore. This is the place where you get a hybrid of all cuisines brought to the city by the various settlers. Dining out here is a great experience - an experience which you can never get bored of, because name any Punjab specialty from Harisa to Lahori fish and you can get it.
As our plane started descending I could see the grand new terminal complex of the Lahore Airport, which reflected the grandeur of the great Moghals and the openness of an outspoken Lahori. It has been designed with Lahore’s rich architectural heritage in mind so that it smoothly blends in with the local cultural landscape. A city where even the most ordinary buildings are seeped in history and architectural elegance - from the mosques, forts and universities to the General Post Office and the YMCA building, all testifying to the architectural brilliance of a bygone era - to build an airport worthy of a city like Lahore, is ambitious undertaking.
A pleasant surprise greeted me when instead of walking down the stairs onto the tarmac to the bus, we instead smoothly walked out from the plane directly into the arrival lounge via the avio-bridge. As I was waiting for my baggage at the newly installed conveyor belt, it felt great to be in an airport which represented a futuristic vision with expansion plans for the next couple of decades designed to cater to the comfort of its passengers.
A major airport in the modern age is not just a facility to handle safe aircraft take-offs and landings. Now all modern airports are designed and constructed with the aimof serving the basic customer - the air traveller - to his greatest satisfaction in all respects. Therefore, airports are now not only restricted to the landing and parking of aircrafts but have in fact all over the world have been turned into mini cities. So on coming out of the lounge it was nice to see a sweetmeat shop, a general store, a gift centre, etc. at the concourse where a large number of people were roaming around with their families, as they do in other places of interest in Lahore.
To cope with the evolution of Lahore’s International Airport as a regional aviation hub for international traffic, with the opening of the Northern Gateway, the CAA has decided to build a modern terminal complex on the eastern flank of the existing central runway. While the current annual turnover of passengers at the Lahore International Airport is more than 2.5 million, the new complex built at a cost of Rs. 10.32 billion, is designed to bear the burden of growth in passenger traffic.
The new Terminal building has been constructed on the 2-level linear concept and covers an area of 71,000 sq. meters. The project has been designed to eventually meet the projected travel requirements of more than 6.5 million passengers per year. It has 7 boarding bridges, 55 check-in counters, 5 baggage reclaim belts and a transit lounge. The new terminal, inaugurated on 17th March, 2003, like any other modern complex is a combination of aspects of technology, new to this country. Apart from the structure, on the other hand there are many systems that have to be installed and integrated to make the whole system work in harmony to create the impact of a well oiled machine which facilitates the purpose for which it was created. Such complexes do have teething problems and the new Lahore terminal is no exception.
However, the CAA has taken concerted steps to ensure that these hiccups are kept at the minimum, which has certainly paid dividends. Ther difficulties that have come to light during its course of operation over the past few weeks, going by newspaper reports, are rather limited and the staff on location has been able to tackle them.
Any airport takes at least 6 to 8 months to settle down which is the universal benchmark. So at least a year must be given to those working at the airport to get familiar with the system and settle. The Lahore terminal, I am told, will take not more than 3 to 4 moths to achieve its desired end. The CAA has switched over from the old terminal to a new one and therefore, the technology now available is far different from what was available at the old terminal. So naturally a certain amount of training, and hands on experience is required before they start to feel as comfortable as they were at the old facility.
The Mughals, famous as builders, gave Lahore some of its finest architectural monuments. Now it is nice to see a modern state-of-art structure coming up in Lahore. However, unlike Karachiites, who are almost always glued to the TV, the fun loving Lahorites make full use of the facilities provided to them. Go to any park, any place of amusement, any restaurant and you will find families enjoying themselves. So much so that they haven’t even left the airport. Families are found lounging around the public areas of the complex, as if taking a stroll in the park.
The new airport in the Punjab capital is a futurustic mini-city that is more than merely a place to land and take-off 
