New airport to begin operations at midnight

New airport to begin operations at midnight

Staff Reporter

Singapore-bound Air India flight will be the first to take off

Jet Airways flight from Mumbai will be the first to land

Helpline to handle queries of passenger set up

BANGALORE: After initial hiccups and three postponements, the new international airport at Devanahalli is all set to open at midnight without much fanfare. While the Singapore-bound Air India flight would be the first to take off from the new facility at 00.01 hours on Saturday, a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai would be the first to land at 9.45 p.m. on Friday itself.

A release from Air India said that the national carrier will have the privilege of operating the inaugural flight of the new airport with the scheduled Airbus A-320 flight IC 957 departing at 00.01 hours on Saturday, throwing open the airport operations. Sources said that the Jet Airways flight 9W 477, which will leave Mumbai at 8.10 p.m. will land at Devanahalli at 9.45 p.m., which would be the first flight to land at the new airport. Subsequently, two Jet Airways flights coming from Delhi and Hyderabad will also land here.

While some airlines have decided to land their flights arriving to Bangalore after 8 p.m. on Friday at the new airport, a few airlines have decided to land at HAL Airport itself. “Those flights that are scheduled to take off on Saturday will be landing at the new airport while those that will take off from Bangalore on Friday itself will be landing at the HAL Airport,” an airline source told The Hindu.

A team of senior officials of the State, including Infrastructure Principal Secretary V.P. Baligar on Thursday inspected the new airport premises to oversee the preparations for the commencement of flight operations. Meanwhile, Director-General of Civil Aviation has specified that from May 23 midnight, the Air Traffic Control code for entering Bangalore civilian airspace would be BLR-BIA and NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) regarding the change has been issued to all ATCs worldwide.
Helpline

In order to assist citizens on the shift to the new airport, the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has dedicated a helpline number to handle queries on passenger amenities and flight information. Passengers can dial 40581111 for information on routes to the airport, transportation facilities, general queries on services at the airport and parking.
No function

In a press release, Mr. Baligar has said that the new airport will commence operation at 00.01 hours on Saturday, and that there would be no formal function to mark the commencement. The BIAL has decided to only start operations at the airport without any formal ceremony since the election code of conduct is still in place, and has decided to have a formal inauguration at a later date.
Over 300 flights tomorrow

Over 20 flights are expected to land in the new airport between 8 p.m. on Friday and 00.01 hours on Saturday while around 15 flights are expected to land at HAL Airport in the same period. Sources said that the new airport is expected to handle over 300 flights on its very first day of commissioning of which over 170 would be arriving flights.