New airport takes wing, finally

New airport takes wing, finally
World-Class Facility: Passengers, Pilots Give Thumbs Up
Our Bureau BANGALORE


AFTER 17 years of wrangling, delay and innumerable rounds of litigation and talks, the new Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) at Devanahalli became operational Friday night.
The first flight to land in the swanky new airport was Indian Airlines’ IC 609 from Mumbai with a couple of other domestic flights slated to land post midnight, delayed by a few hours. The first flight to take off from the new airport was Air India’s IC 957 for Singapore captained by Ishwar Pal Panwar.
And with that, the HAL airport that had served civilian flights for decades, has become an exclusive defence airport.
Delays and confusion notwithstanding, the airport set-up received thumbs-up from passengers and pilots alike. Ms Sheela Shenoy, first on the tarmac from the Mumbai flight, said: “I am very excited. This place has good facilities compared to the old HAL airport.
Echoes Captain SV Vasishtha, who piloted the Mumbai flight, “This is a world-class facility. The guys who run this are professionals.”
IT engineer Prashant Rao, travelling to the US via Singapore, remarked, “It (airport) is good and gives an international flavour.” Chandru Mohan, who was waiting to receive a passenger, said: “There is enough space for visitors and I have reached the airport on time. After Hebbal, it was a smooth drive.”
The landing and departure of first flights was without any fanfare. But the lack of a formal inauguration did not subdue the spirits of those involved in building the airport. There was a sense of relief that the job had been completed despite all hurdles. The last hurdle was cleared when the Karnataka High Court on Friday evening dismissed petitions urging that the HAL airport also be kept open. “We are not inclined to accept the claim for staying the operation of the notification issued by the civil aviation ministry,” the court said.
Premium as well as budget taxi services have also been launched at the new airport. CarzOnRent operates limousines and provides executive-class travel, while EasyCabz runs a radio taxi service.
Both have lined up plans to expand at the airport. Even forex dealer Wasim Bari, who has a outlet at the new airport, was pretty excited: “I am happy that I am doing a job at the Bangalore International Airport. It is an exciting place. Right now, there are no customers to exchange currencies at the counter. The business will pick up soon.” The new airport has been built at a cost of Rs 2,470 crore as a public-private partnership between the state government and a Siemens-led consortium.