A fortnight & counting

A fortnight & counting


Bengaluru, June 7: Teething problems? Birth pangs? Clearly, Bengaluru International Airport Limited which has successfully completed fifteen days on Saturday may have crossed more than a milestone . Nearly 6,500 flights, approximately 52,500 passengers and some glitches behind them, BIAL, which opened its doors to the skies a fortnight ago, has clocked impressive figures in terms of handling aircraft without much ‘waiting time’ for the docking metal birds, signalling a new level of efficiency over Bengaluru’s skies.

It has not been an easy ride for BIAL. The private operator was hit by confusion and shortage of staff as it transitioned from trial mode to commercial operations. Unfair? Certainly, the navigation into and outside the airport is a piece of cake. Parking, collecting the boarding pass, checking in, checking out is hassle-free. HAL was a dingy congested apartment in the central business district. BIA is a sprawling villa.

Says Sharath Chandra, one of the concessionaires with the BIA: "You can’t have the cake as well eat it. If you need facilities and space, you need to move to areas out of the city. That’s the case with BIA. Except for distance, we are quite excited to operate out of here."

While the BIAL staffers will give full marks to their employer as they have comfortable bunkers, well maintained staff canteen and rest rooms, the staff of bookstores, the cafeteria, coffee shops, taxi services, fast food joints, parking attendants, and last but not the least the CISF jawans are not. "This place isn’t for us. We need to walk a kilometre to use the washroom. As for a canteen, there is a makeshift canteen which is in need of improvement. We also eat the same food which is on the menu," said a waiter at Subway, a fast food chain.

A manager at Hertz, a premium taxi operator, says these are only teething problems. "It is only two weeks. We hope things will be set right soon. But BIAL could have planned it well in advance as they had plenty of time," he said. Functional, efficient, user friendly. The only flaw? Location, location, location. Verdict? Not as bad as it’s been painted.