Travellers in for rude shock at BIAL

Travellers in for rude shock at BIAL
Tuesday June 3 2008 13:54 IST

Monica Jha

BANGALORE: A South African couple, Taylor and Allison, landed at the Bengaluru International Airport at 12.30 am on May 28 and were shocked to realise it was not the same airport as shown in their guide book.

They struggled with the taxi drivers to 'get out of the place,' only to discover that the budget hotel in Chikpet where they had booked was more than 45 km away.

Another passenger from Kuala Lumpur arrived at the new airport on May 24 to wonder how to reach the City at around 1.30 am. Inadequate information on airport shift has left many passengers, especially foreigners, in a fix.

As most international flights arrive in the night, the travellers are shocked to learn that the airport has been shifted to Devanahalli, 55 km from HAL Airport and 35 km from the City Business District.

Foreign tourists usually rely on travel books and plan their tour, including taxi and hotel accommodation well in advance and any last minute change can ruin their plans.

Here is the reason for potential confusion: The website of Department of Tourism, Karnataka, still shows: "HAL Airport is 10 km from MG Road." No airports are shown on website's Bangalore map, though the bus station and railway station are marked.

The website of The Leela Palace still indicates that the hotel is just three km away from the international and domestic airport.

A website www.bangaloreairport. com shows 'HAL Airport' is situated on Airport Road and well within the city about 6 km from MG Road -the city centre. The official website of the new airport is www.bengaluruairport.com. Many tourism websites are also not updated on airport information.

Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, I M Vittalmurthy, said: "The responsibility of informing travellers about the airport shift lies with the airport operator and airlines. We have a counter at the new airport to help the arriving passengers."

Mathew, mnager of tour operators, Coxs & Kings, said: "There is no way that we being tour operators can inform tourists about the airport shift. Due to the wide media coverage, people know that Bangalore has a new airport."

On whether the information would have reached all foreign tourists, he said, international tourists largely depend on travel books which are up-to-date and should not be held responsible for any change thereafter. The responsibility to inform the passengers about the airport shift lies largely with the airlines and they have been informing their passengers.

BIAL also sent press releases to the media, said an official from Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of the new airport.

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, Air India, V Chandrasekar, said: "There are three ways to inform the passengers about this shift- through the media, through call centres of airlines and the departing stations. The airlines and departing stations can inform the travellers well in advance about the airport shift. The airlines have been informing passengers about this shift."

However, many international and domestic passengers, who arrived at the Devanahalli airport confirmed that they were informed about landing at the new airport just before landing.

Some passengers said they were informed just before boarding the flight but not well in advance to change their plans, if any.

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