New Bangalore airport set to turn one quietly

Bangalore: The new Bengaluru International airport starts its second year Sunday without any fanfare. Yet to be officially inaugurated or christened, the airport has got mixed reviews from passengers during the first year of its operations.
"The new airport is very far from the city. It takes a lot of time to commute because of heavy traffic. We lose precious time and that is not good for us," Ved Pathak, a software professional, said.
He was reflecting views expressed earlier by Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Infosys Director Mohandas Pai who had campaigned for retention of the old government-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd airport located within the city. The new airport is 35 km away from the centre of this city.
"The toilets at the new airport are cramped and not well maintained. We expect better facilities in an international airport," remarked K. Vishwanathan, a marketing executive.
But Sushmita, a student of business management, said: "It is definitely better compared to the old airport. The place is swanky with lots of eatouts. I quite like it."
The airport made a wobbly takeoff May 24 last year, amid protests, legal battles and criticism over poor road connectivity. Today, it is a beehive of activity, with 280 aircraft landing or taking off per day and thousands of passengers arriving or departing.
The new airport was conceived as the 50-year-old HAL airport was bursting at its seams, handling 320 flights a day and 35,000-40,000 passengers daily or about 10 million passengers annually.
Though the $625-million (Rs.29,687-crore) greenfield airport took a decade to materialise, the first phase was completed in a record 36 months after construction began in mid-2005.
23/05/09 IANS/Times of India

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Categories: Airports May 2009