The new terminal should be opened in March 2017.
In five months, a new terminal of the Zagreb Airport will be opened. Loic Briand and his team have been working for a year on the preparations and coaching of airport employees who will at the beginning of March next year move from the old terminal to the new one, reports Jutarnji List on October 11, 2016.
“It is important that all those who are involved in the operations of the airport, not only employees, but also other services, such as airlines, security, police and others, know where they will perform their duties and understand all the processes”, said Briand.
“Once the terminal building is built, most people think that everything is ready. But, that is wrong. A successful opening of a terminal does not include only buildings, but also the people who work there”, said Briand. Therefore, he is in Zagreb to implement the ORAT process, which includes a set of procedures, operational testing, familiarization and training of employees of the airport which they must pass in order to be ready to take over operations at the new terminal.
“We have started with our programme in September 2015 and our work will be completed in June 2017. Twenty-two months is a usual period for this process to be concluded”, said Briand.
By the opening of the new terminal, they will carry out 80 different tests during the last 90 days before the opening. In order for conditions to be as realistic as possible, they will hire volunteers who will have the role of travellers. Briand said that the plan was to hire as many as 400 volunteers on the day of the largest test. At the beginning, they will use 50 “passengers”, but with each subsequent test their numbers will increase.
The culmination of operational testing will occur just before the official opening of the terminal. In close cooperation with airlines, some planes will use the new terminal instead of the old one. That will test whether the employees can work in the new environment.
According to plans, all air traffic will be shifted to the new terminal during one night. While that may seem complicated and demanding, Briand said that this was the best possible model. “It should be done overnight. From the perspective of the airport operator, it is the simplest solution. If you do it in stages, you have a duplication of jobs. And it is simpler for travellers as well. “
