The Hindu Business Line : BIA capacity survey report in a week

An Airports Authority of India team that studied the facilities at the new Bangalore airport is to give its assessment to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on June 25.

The four-member team returned to Delhi on Wednesday with data on air traffic and air-side facilities at Bengaluru International Airport, passenger flow and the capacity at the terminals, besides cargo infrastructure after a three-day survey.

It would analyse the data against requirements of various users and give its assessment report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on June 25, sources said.

Last month, a division bench of the Karnataka High Court had called for an independent survey of the airport’s capacity while hearing a public-interest case. The petitioner has sought reopening of the old HAL airport due to capacity constraints at the new one. The case is coming up again in July.

Phase-1 of BIA is built for 12 million passengers annually – which the airport is already approaching at 11.4 million.

The operator BIAL, which was planning to start a full-fledged Phase-2 next year, will meanwhile add more amenities, check-in counters and waiting space at the existing facility to meet immediate requirements.

It may also build a terminal for low-cost carriers over the next 18 months as LCC passengers form 30 per cent of the BIA traffic, said Mr Albert Brunner, CEO of the airport, during an interaction with the Aeronautical Society of India this week. The proposals are going before the board shortly.

The smaller addition is being taken up as the full expansion including a second runway is likely to take three years from start.

BIAL’s contention is that Bangalore’s unexpected high traffic growth has challenged its capacity planning: midway through construction, it had to fit in an expansion worth Rs 540 crore in 2006 as the passenger flow grew from the projected 7 million to 9 million.

On the airside, it says it can handle 720 aircraft movements a day versus the 320-350 it manages currently.