Big birds stare at elbow-room problem on Bangalore tarmac

Bangalore: The glitzy airport in India’s software capital that was to have been the takeoff point for the aviation growth story remains grounded in the present.
International airlines have slammed the airport for the “flawed” design of the aerobridges — a sanitised corridor connecting the plane doors with the terminal building.
The new airport has eight aerobridges to handle 11.4 million passengers annually.
Only four of the eight aerobridges in Bangalore can service wide-bodied aircraft at a time, leaving the other four idle. If one wide-bodied aircraft is being serviced, the two aerobridges flanking it have to be left unused as the aircraft’s large wingspan prevents other planes from being parked close to it on either side.
Wide-bodied aircraft, such as the Airbus A330, A340 or the Boeing 747 or 777, have a wingspan of 60-75 metres compared with 28-34 metres for narrow-bodied planes like the A320 or Boeing 737. With an aerobridge every 45-50 metres, wide bodies occupy a major portion of the apron — the area where the planes are parked, loaded or unloaded, refuelled or boarded.
Albert Brunner, the chief executive officer of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), said it was not a design flaw but a plan to “optimise” the use of infrastructure.
But airlines are not amused. A European airline, which operates only Airbus A-340s to Bangalore, was upset with the planning.
With aviation registering phenomenal growth and seat demand surging, airlines across the world are opting for more wide-bodied aircraft. But the Bangalore airport, which cost over Rs 2,500 crore and took four years to build, is not designed to meet the demands of this growth.
15/06/08 Anil Budur Lulla/The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports Jun 2008