Pilots happy with facilities

Pilots happy with facilities

Staff Reporter

The first flight trial at the international airport was a success

The runway at the new airport is 150 feet wide

‘Facilities at HAL airport and new airport cannot be compared’

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Thumbs up: Albert Brunner, CEO of Bangalore International Airport Limited (centre), addressing the press after the first passenger flight trial at the international airport at Devanahalli on Friday.

BANGALORE: When the Airbus A320 carrying onboard 180 mediapersons and Deccan employees touched the runway at the Bangalore International Airport near Devanahalli on Friday morning, the sleek new airliner with all-new red upholstery resounded with whoops of exultation with the Deccan employees cheering at the safe landing.

As part of the public trial before the formal opening of the international airport, the Deccan flight took off from the city’s HAL Airport at 10.50 a.m., landing at Devanahalli within 20 minutes.

Speaking to presspersons later, Deccan flight commander Pratap V. Deshpande and first officer Hetal Sreesh said they had a safe and satisfactory landing at the new airport.

Though they expressed satisfaction over the runway and other landing facilities, the pilots said that several aspects needed fine-tuning as it was a new airport. To a question on the status of the runway, Mr. Deshpande said the HAL airport’s runway was 200 ft. wide as it was a training base. The runway at the new airport was 150 feet wide, more than the world standard, he noted. He said that facilities at the two airports could not be compared as one was already established while the other was just in the growing stage. Before the take-off and after the landing at Devanahalli, the “passengers” went through routine, but rigorous security and check-in procedure. The baggage was screened by X-ray and passengers were frisked during the security check. The Central Industrial Security Force, which looks after airport security across the country, has already deployed a great number of its security personnel at the airport.