Two airports may soon be a reality

Two airports may soon be a reality
By: B V Shiva ShankarDate: 2008-08-20

Bangalore:

Set to change? HAL Airport wears a deserted look ever since BIA began operations file pic

BIAL has almost agreed to the reopening of the HAL Airport, MiD DAY has learnt.

A central government team visited BIAL to inspect it in the wake of an Airport Authority of India report that highlighted its capacity constraints.

"The team was here on Monday and Tuesday," said a source in AAI. "And the way they took the stock of the situation shows that the government is interested in re-opening the HAL Airport."

Dreading penalty

However, he said the greatest challenge before the government was to avoid the penalty clause.

"In case the government presses for new terms, it has to pay a hefty penalty between Rs 100 crore and Rs 1,000 crore. A clause in the contract enables BIAL to move court in case of any breach of contract," he said.

Another highly placed source said BIAL was considering agreeing to the reopening of HAL Airport if it was allowed to share revenue.

"They said they would consider the idea if they were allowed a share of the revenue," he said.

Tough team

The central government team comprising civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla, joint secretary K N Srivastava, director Dr Anaroy, and accompanied by state chief secretary Sudhakar Rao, reportedly posed tough questions when its chief commercial officer Manish Grower made a presentation.

Going around the terminal, the team noticed the airport had used more than the allotted space for shops.

The chief commercial officer was reportedly defensive when the team asked about the poor passenger amenities in the security hold area.

Inadequacies

The team also noticed inadequacies in the Air Traffic Control building.

"The ATC is a sensitive area and it has just one lift where two are required," said A N Viswanatha, manager, ATC. "I hope this will be rectified soon."

BIAL wouldn't reveal what happened during the visit. Manish Grower said, "I am not supposed to share any information with you. What is happening is routine."

K N Srivastava said, "The meeting went off very well. We discussed many issues. However the reopening of the HAL Airport is left to the court."

The case will be heard in the high court on August 22.

Hope for older taxis

Local taxi drivers appealed to the central government team that they be allowed to ply at the international airport.

They were led by Congress MLA Ne La Narendra Babu.

"The team's response was positive," he said. "The BIAL is insisting on GPS in taxis, but we argued that wireless would serve the purpose."