Bial’s second runway proposal irks IAF

New Delhi: Bangalore’s new airport, already buffeted by a court case and controversy over closure of the city-side airport it replaced, has hit another roadblock ahead of a much-needed expansion.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has objected to the location of a proposed second runway saying it may be too close to its airbase nearby affecting operations.
A civil aviation ministry official termed IAF’s objections “unacceptable” and said it would be asked to re-examine its decision.
Among India’s top five airports by traffic, the new Bengaluru International Airport is facing public interest litigation in the Karnataka high court over alleged congestion during peak hours. The litigants, including a local citizens’ group in Bangalore, argue that a capital-intensive asset such as the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)-run old airport, which has been closed for commercial traffic since late May, shouldn’t be allowed to close, especially given the long commute time to the new airport.
The new airport, run by Bangalore International Airport Ltd, or Bial, is some 30km north-east of Bangalore, and was predicated on the old airport not competing with it. Over the past few months, under growing criticism, the civil aviation ministry had asked Bial to speed up the process of second phase of expansion and match the overcapacity gaps it found in a study of the new airport.
18/09/08 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Categories: Airports Sep 2008