BIA launch put off by a day

BIA launch put off by a day
DH News Service, Bangalore:
The commercial launch of the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) scheduled for May 23 has been delayed again. And, this time it is just by a day.

The Devanahalli airport will now be commissioned at 12:01 am on May 24, instead of 12:01 am on May 23. The first flight to arrive at the airport is expected to land anytime after 8 pm on Friday.

Earlier, the first touchdown at the airport was fixed at 9:45 pm on Thursday.

The last-minute change in the launch was necessitated by an Election Commission directive citing Thursday’s third and final phase polling in the State.

The EC asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to issue a notification to the promoters Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) in this regard.

NOTAM out
The Friday opening appears to be a certainty as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Wednesday night issued NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) on the opening of the airport at 12:01 am on May 24. NOTAM is a notice to airlines and aviation authorities to land and take off from the new airport.

According to V P Baligar, Principal Secretary, Depar-tment of Infrastructure, “A large number of police personnel have been diverted for election work in North Karnataka and they are all reporting to the EC till the election process is over. The new airport requires additional police security as a large crowd is expected to visit it on the day it is commissioned. The airport is a public place and none can stop people from visiting it. But there is a shortage of police personnel in the City. Hence, the MoCA has put off the commissioning on the advice of the EC.”

The directive
When asked why the decision had been taken at the eleventh hour, he said, “Such a thing had happened in the case of the Hyderabad international airport too. The inauguration was delayed there by two days.” The postponement directive came in the evening taking everyone unawares as the Bengaluru International Airport Limited had just then finished taking journalists around the airport showcasing its facilities. Minutes after what its CEO Albert Brunner termed as the last press conference before the greenfield became an airport, BIAL received the MoCA bombshell.

Brunner said, “We are taken by surprise. In fact, we have just closed a press conference communicating our preparedness for tomorrow’s launch.

However, there is nothing we can do at this point. All our efforts are now towards minimising passenger and airline inconvenience owing to this postponement.”

He had earlier announced that the first flight to touchdown at the airport would be a Jet Airways’ flight (9W 477) arriving from Mumbai at 9:45 pm on May 22.

All landings later would take place at the Bengaluru International Airport and not the HAL, he had claimed. Similarly, Air India flight IC 957 to Singapore was to have taken off at 12:05 am on May 23.

Jinxed
The opening of the BIA will go down as one of the most jinxed events in the history of civil aviation. Not once, twice but thrice the opening date of the Bengaluru International Airport has been postponed over the past couple of months.

The airport was to have been inaugurated on March 28 and flight operations begin from April 1 onwards.

But, it was postponed to May 11 after the regulatory authorities found constraints in the Air Traffic Control. Then again, following a Karnataka High Court directive, the inauguration was put off till the last week of May.

However, the MoCA last week zeroed in on May 23 as the day for inaugurating flight operations.

No VIPs to be present
Baligar also said neither Governor Rameshwar Thakur or any VIP would be present on the day of the commissioning.

“Only the technical opening will take place on May 24 and there will be no formal inauguration,” he made it clear.

THE SWITCHOVER
*EC directs Ministry of Civil Aviation to postpone launch by 24 hours.
*Reasons: Final phase of polling, shortage of police.
*BIA was scheduled to be commissioned at 00.01 hrs on May 23 postponed to 00.01 hrs on May 24.
*Jet Airway (9W477) scheduled to land at 9.45 pm postponed by 24 hours.
*Air India flight IC 957 to take off at 00:05 hrs postponed by 24 hours.
*All flights after 8 pm was to land at BIA.
*Dial 40581111 for passenger information.