BIAL may face severe problems soon: HAL official

BIAL may face severe problems soon: HAL official
Sunday March 2 2008 08:24 IST

Express News Service

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BANGALORE: Rapidly reaching saturation point and a restricted airspace could pose problems for the new Bangalore international airport expected to begin operations by March end.

The only solution would be to upgrade the existing HAL airport with an additional runway, a senior HAL official said on Saturday.

Delivering a presentation, 'Airport services - current limitations and trends' organised by the Aeronautical Society of India here on Saturday, S R Iyer, Deputy General Manager (Airport Services), HAL, said the Devanahalli airport could reach a peak passenger traffic load of 40 million per year 'within a few months' as the airport has been allotted about 40 per cent of the Bangalore air space.

The remaining 60 per cent is being shared by the Air Force Station, Yelahanka, and HAL airport, where test flights on new or upgraded aircraft would continue to be conducted by the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC).

The present HAL airport is handling a passenger traffic volume of eight million per year, and five times that could mean a saturation point that could be difficult to manage, he said.

This situation could prevent offering slots to additional airlines as the Indian Air Force was against allowing the new airport to have a second parallel runway due to its proximity to AF Station, Yelahanka.

Iyer said the only solution would be to upgrade the present HAL airport by allowing the addition of one parallel runway with rapid exits and taxi tracks to facilitate better coordination for operating the two runways simultaneously.

He also called for reviewing the existing Directorate General of Civil Aviation rules and privatising the Air Traffic Control (ATC).