Guwahati terminal T2- seat belts on, set on course! Blue skies and tailwind!

As I was munching through my breakfast this morning, with a cup of Assam tea to wake up my senses in this frosty English winter, I came across a news of the new terminal in Guwahati airport opening soon. Each morning at breakfast, I set my mind free of all essential thoughts and let it run wild, like a dog walker would do to the dog, and as always happens, the thoughts do a little jumping around, with the gay abandon of a blithe heifer in a bright summer morning!

It’s all in the news! A new terminal with 140,000 square meters of floor area, 64 check-in counters, 20 self-check-in kiosks, 10 airbridges, and ability to handle 4,500 passengers per hour, in an international award-winning building themed to depict the rich culture of the state, and inspired by the strength of bamboo and the elegance of the foxtail orchid. It's heavy on sustainability, no additional land acquiesced, and the nearby Deepor Beel has not coming to any harm! Amazing, I thought! This will surely transform air travel to and from Guwahati!

I have not visited Guwahati in last one-and-a-half year, but each time I went there, I have discovered a new city! A busier, faster city metamorphosing rapidly to reach a global identity, a city which has no resemblance to the place in which I used to ride around 20 years back, when I was doing post-graduate training in the Guwahati medical college. The melting pot for the myriads of Eastern cultures from the North-East, a hub for education and commerce, at the cross-roads of transit for the valleys and the hills, and also at the cross-hairs of geopolitics, Guwahati is a city with a fast-expanding population, ready to burst at the sims with the pressure on civic amenities.

Compared to the city’s expansion, its airport - built in 1958 - is dated! Difficult to reach from the main city, not enough space, slow check-in facilities, overwhelmed amenities, long queues in security check-in, and nothing to add up to any passenger comfort, time-constrained travellers like me do not feel any enthusiasm about travelling through Guwahati. Kolkata is becoming the hub for flights to North-East airports, albeit with long lay-overs, as Guwahati fails to accommodate increasing flight schedules. For instance, for me to travel to Jorhat from Mumbai, I will spend a whole day. Maybe, all these will change now!

What if?

As I let my mind race, it conjures up some thoughts, mixing my experience from airports the world over! Reaching the Guwahati airport from the main city is a nightmare, the traffic will only increase. Airports like Heathrow and Delhi have shuttle trains from the city, and car parks with bus shuttle. Maybe Guwahati can also have a shuttle train, connecting through Kamakhya or Azara station from the main city, and off-site car parks?

The Brahmaputra river is part of the identity of Assam. The waterfront in Guwahati is now world-standard. What if there is a water taxi service from the city’s waterfront to the airport, like in Venice? How much it will add to the convenience and the WOW factor!

Some months ago, I had lost a laptop in Oman while in security check. But to my relief, I got that back at an unimaginable speed due to the efficiencies in the systems and processes at the airport. For the new terminal of the Guwahati airport, Digiyatrawillsurely be a great addition to the overall travel experience, but how easy it will be if the new generation scanners are also installed, like in Dubai, London, Abu Dhabi etc., and there is no need to take out anything from the bag during security check? 

In another related development, VFS global is opening soon in Guwahati. The VFS presence - along with frequent direct flights to South-East Asian destinations like Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore etc. - will help Guwahati pose serious challenge to the eastern aviation hub of Kolkata. That will also help grow local business in transit and freights!

Airports like Delhi and Mumbai have the problem of size. Many Indian passengers, therefore, take wheel-chair service. Airports like Heathrow, Dubai, Abu-Dhabi etc. now have connecting trains between terminals and from security check-in to boarding gates. What if Guwahati introduces golf cart service for all passengers, to reduce the walking time? Green energy, Faster transit, more flights! Sustainability, the buzz word! 

Our folks travel with farm produce, culinary and prickles for their dear ones living in big cities, my mother-in-law always does. What if some training is imparted to both passengers and the CISF personnel, to avoid so much of discussion, cajoling and time wastage, checking individual bags! The North-East is vast, and hilly terrain. What if passengers can break journey and sleep overnight in facilities in the airport, or nearby? The airport can also be an emporium, what if it showcases all that the north-east has to offer? Will the new terminal also help the defence establishment for transfers and supplies?

Random thoughts, I thought, as I finished my breakfast. But maybe, these are not random thoughts, or wishful thinking! As we knock on the world stage with test cricket and world cup matches, these are also on the planning? Maybe, one day? Wishful thinking, again!