Armed with automatic plant irrigation sensors, full-body scanners, end-to-end Digi Yatra capabilities, self-baggage drop units, among other tech initiatives, Bengaluru’s new and second terminal (T2) aims to improve operational efficiency by 60%.

While seamlessly walking past several gates at the airport during the day, passengers will now notice that the regular fluorescent lights on the roof won’t be switched on all the time. The airport management said T2 can fully function “without a single light being switched on”, thanks to the natural light that comes in from the glass walls.

The penetration of natural light will also help maintain 600,000 plants in T2, some even including a few 600-800-year-old trees, which by default will drop the room temperature by a few degrees.

Staying true to its tech capabilities, the staff at Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) have indigenously developed a mobile application that automatically waters all the plants based on sensors that track the humidity and room temperature, among others, requiring no human intervention.

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Most of the software required to enable the cutting-edge technology at play was developed in partnership with Cisco, the American IT giant. In all, T2 is built to handle 25 million passengers annually, broadly similar to the 26 million that T1, the current operational terminal at Kempegowda International Airport Limited (KIAL), manages.

As of now, T2 will be open for public as early as December-end and will first see domestic passengers and will later cater to international travel. However, the BIAL team plans to entirely move the international traffic to T2 over time with only certain airlines operating domestic routes as well.

Built by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore or so, the T2 will only operate its first phase for now. Once T2 begins to see high footfall, it will unveil its second phase which is nearing completion but will not be used immediately. In total, BIAL has earmarked some Rs 13,000 crore for its expansion plans which will likely include another terminal, T3, around 2032.

Striking a balance between tech, art and sustainability, T2 passengers will also see several artists from around the world showcase their work at various points in the terminal. The culmination of these initiatives will help T2 become “a biodiversity hotspot”.

However, travellers that are required to switch between the two terminals will need to make a full exit from their terminal, walk a 1.5-km-long skybridge and redo the entire security check procedures, similar to most other airports. They can also avail the shuttle services that will ply every 10 minutes or so.