Touchdown

First impressions matter. And nowhere does a city,a country for that matter,announce its self-image and aspirations as at the airport. Our airports,till recently,and then too only the bigger ones,were only just that bit better as necessitated by matters of safety and the negligible fear of embarrassment we had. However,among the multifarious changes imposed upon us by the political economy of a globalised world,and almost two decades after we began liberalising our own economy,our metropolitan and non-metro airports are on course to radical makeovers,with Delhi and Mumbai leading the way.

 Most passengers on a given day may not be using an airport for the first time,but an airport assumes arrivals of newcomers to a city. As far as first impressions go therefore,the significance of how the airport looks to the visitor cannot be understated. Its her first point of cognition as to how a city sees itself the first instance of the citys self-image. And for a resident too,it is no less emblematic of the kind of importance given to public spaces.

 The T3 terminal under construction in Delhi,about four months from completion,is set to propel the capital into the club of 21st-century airports. With 78 aerobridges and a capacity to immediately handle 27 million combined international and domestic passengers to be enhanced in the coming years,it will stand comparison with the likes of Beijings imposing new state-of-the-art airport. It hasnt come too soon,given that Delhi recently became Indias busiest airport,having handled about 24 million passengers for 2008-09. An airport is ideally a marriage of high aesthetics and user-convenience. The T3 terminal promises to be just that,and should be the inspiration,if not the template,for airport modernisation across the country.