Bloggers, children get first-hand feel of BIA

Bloggers, children get first-hand feel of BIA
R Krishnakumar | TNN

Bangalore: Take this for a people’s airport, if you will. At least, the idea isn’t lost here. Flooded with armchair opinions — on everything from the airport’s look to facilities to passenger capacity — the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has got the people to decide for themselves.
Over the past six months, BIAL has hosted around 4,000 visitors at the airport in Devanahalli as part of its ‘Know your airport’ initiative. The idea was to let people from different walks of life see, feel and experience the airport and debunk hearsay theories, according to BIAL.
“People were sitting in their homes and offices and discussing connectivity to and facilities in the airport. We thought the best way to handle this was by bringing them to the airport,’’ says a BIAL spokesperson.
Corporate/IT sector employees, design students, children, bank employees and NGOs have all been on the visitors’ list. On an average, BIAL handles two visits every day and an official was made in charge of these visits. With the CISF set to take over the airport’s security this month and pressure to organize more visits mounting, BIAL is winding up the programme. The experiences from the visits, though, are already out on the internet with bloggers giving their first-hand take on the greenfield airport.
Most requests for the visits came through the BIAL website.
Visits were also organized after BIAL invited companies — including Microland, AOL, Mitsubishi and Toyota — with a high number of air travellers.
Children from NGOs like SOS Children’s Village also had a look at the airport, that’s scheduled for a May launch.
Net result
Bloggers detailing BIA visits have largely approved of the airport’s look and feel. While the pace at which the airport was completed (construction started in 2005) has been lauded, the use of natural light in the terminal building, the colour combinations, check-in counters and the fire service standards have also found favour with many.
Bloggers have raised concerns over want of space in the domestic departure and baggage-claim areas. The much-debated connectivity issue has also been highlighted, with some blogging about the time taken to get to the airport. The visit reports also come with photographs of the swanky airport interiors and comparisons with the Hyderabad International Airport.