BIA getting ready for airbus A380

BIA getting ready for airbus A380
Wednesday June 18 2008 09:48 IST

Express News Service

BANGALORE: The Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), which will soon be on expansion mode to meet the capacity constraints, will be turning A380- compliant.

BIA, thrown open for commercial operations on May 24 after the completion of the first phase of the greenfield airport project, will shortly start the construction of an additional runway,which will be able to accommodate the world's largest passenger aircraft - the Airbus A380. The commissioning of the second runway, a part of the third phase of expansion plans, is expected to be completed by 2013. According to BIA's CEO Albert Brunner: ''The new airport's existing runway length is 4,000 mt, and it is 45 mt wide. The runway has in addition light-paved shoulders measuring up to 60 mt in width.''He adds that with the commissioning of the second runway, the airport will be able to handle the 855-seater Super Jumbo. ''The second runway and other expansion plans will be done keeping in mind the long-term requirements of the passengers and airline operators.

The second runway will be an A380-compliant runway,'' says Brunner. The promoters of BIAL have designed and planned the runway bearing the Boeing 747s in mind. However, with a large number of the country's airline operators and international carriers placing orders for the jumbo carrier with Airbus, airports across India have been making arrangements to make the airports A380- compliant. The GMR-promoted RGIA in Hyderabad can also accommodate the aircraft.