The state-of-the-art Terminal 2 Building of Shanghai Pudong International Airport was put through its paces Saturday and came through the grueling test with flying colors ahead of its official public opening on March 26.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport's Terminal 2 building is seen in a recent photo. Terminal 2 underwent a mock operation on Saturday.

The comprehensive drill covered all aspects of terminal operations, including passenger boarding checks, quarantine inspections, Customs claims and flight transfers.

Special situations were created, such as passengers taking the wrong luggage or traveling with contraband, and sniffer dogs were also on the case.

About 1,300 college and vocational-school students from the city, with simulated domestic and international flight tickets, played the roles of passengers. A Shanghai Airlines Boeing B767 pulled over to a bridge at Terminal 2 during the exercise to demonstrate landing procedures, including how the crew should leave by the new passages.

The terminal building covers a total area of 480,000 square meters. The top floor serves as the international departures area, the second floor for international arrivals and the ground floor for domestic departures.

International transit passengers who don't need to claim luggage can simply go to any of the nine service desks to complete transfer procedures and then move, via a convenient route, to their departure areas after passing security checks.

As distinct from Terminal 1, the new facility has about 100,000 square meters of high-quality carpet in passenger waiting areas. The carpet reduces noise and helps to make the environment cozy.

Toilets, baby-care rooms and smoking areas are on all floors of Terminal 2, while passengers can only find toilets on the ground floor in Terminal One.

The airport authority said 33 airline-operation centers will be moved from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 in stages on March 26 and April 29.

Travelers are offered three indoor corridors to walk about 500 meters to transfer between the two terminals or they can take free shuttle buses.

A traffic center, between the two terminal buildings and connected with the three corridors, is ready for service. Travelers will find access to the parking lots at the traffic center, plus the Maglev station.

(Shanghai Daily March 9, 2008)