A day after, all quiet at HAL airport

A day after, all quiet at HAL airport Emotional Taxi Drivers Stay Back To Watch Final Moment
Bangalore: It was all quiet on the HAL airport front.
A day after the first commercial aircraft landed at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) in Devanahalli, people were seen packing stuff belonging to several airlines, which used to arrive and depart from here. In short, a final wrapping-up work was going on.
The airport staff as well as employees of airlines were carrying files, computers, chairs, documents and a whole lot of other equipment on trolleys. They moved to and fro carrying their cargo from inside the airport to waiting trucks outside to be transported to their new workplaces.
The airport offices looked bare with even telephone and cable wire being removed. The premises look as if it had been cleared in a hurry.
But three ticket counters — Kingfisher, Deccan and Spicejet — were open. The staff said they did not down their windows to make it easy for passengers to book tickets at least for a few more days.
The entire front area spanning the length of the arrival and departure terminal and the road adjacent to the taxi stand were vacant, except for some taxis.
The only people seen were some airport and airlines staff clearing their office equipment — and some curious onlookers who came to see the process of an airport being shut.
The parking lots at the domestic and international terminals did have a few autos and taxis, but certainly not the large numbers usually seen. The cargo office was the only busy place with the staff loading material to be sent to Devanahalli.
On a nostalgic trip
Some auto and taxi drivers who hung around the airport did so for “sentimental reasons”. They walked around the stands and ticket counters coming to terms with not doing business there anymore.
“This place has given us livelihood for so many years. We’re just standing and wondering that today perhaps would be the last day we’ll be here. It was always a habit to come into the airport stand. Now it won’t be,” a driver said.
Another auto driver spoke of BIA as being “unfair” in not making space for autos and city taxis. “All together we are 3,000 drivers — autos, city taxis and yellow board taxis. We would also like a separate space and counter at BIA. Not only will it give us a living, it will help passengers who would like to come to the city at lower rates,” he said.
“I am very sure there’ll be passengers for autos and city taxis. BIA can take some commission from us. It will benefit all three parties — ourselves, passengers and the airport. We don’t want to block revenue to the airport,” said a taxi driver, who came to see the airport for the last time.
“If passengers prefer to take luxury vehicles, they are free to do so. The same way let them be free to take economical modes of transport. Let us offer a choice of all modes of transport to passengers,” the drivers argued though with not much hope given the present regulations.
Confusion persists
There was some confusion early morning as many passengers arrived at HAL airport assuming flights would take off from there. There were passengers coming in between 9 and 12 noon. Many of them didn’t seem to be clear that flights were now operating from BIA. “Even hotels didn’t inform customers that flights were taking off from BIA. Some taxi and auto drivers were also confused. With so much being said about the new airport, we don’t know how passengers could end up at the wrong airport,” a passenger said.