Now, VIPs can lounge at intl airport in style

Now, VIPs can lounge at intl airport in style
By S Praveen Dhaneshkar, DH News Service, Bangalore:
At long last, a demand of many politicians, that an exclusive lounge for VIPs is needed at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), has been met at Devanahalli.



BIA on Wednesday unveiled its plush ‘Reserved Lounge’ at the airport terminal. It boasts of facilities such as a pantry cabin, rest room with shower facility, and sofas fit for a king.

That’s not all. The lounge also has a dedicated team of ten ‘Guest Relations’ executives to pamper politicians, leaders and even officials. The lounge, which is located inside the airport terminal, has been opened after much hue and cry raised by the joint house committee. The committee was constituted by the State government to look into allegations that the new greenfield airport did not confirm to set global standards, and that facilities for VIPs and travelling airline passengers were ignored during the construction of the airport.

The lounge will also cater to corporate chiefs from India and abroad. V Madhu, Managing Director of the Karnataka State Industrial Investment Corporation (KSIIDC) was one of the first VIPs to visit the lounge, before leaving for New Delhi on Wednesday. Michael S Dell, the CEO of Dell, who arrived here from the US, was also shown the new facility.

BIA officials told Deccan Herald that the State’s protocol department will hand over a list of travelling VIPs, leaders from political parties, IAS officers, judges of the Supreme and High Courts, MPs and MLAs to them on a daily basis, and the guest relations staff will cater to them before they board, or after they alight from their flights.

The opening of the lounge comes just days before the members of the joint house committee are scheduled to make a visit to BIA on October 31, to inspect the facilities offered. BIA also has a separate lounge at the air-side section for VVIPs - including the President and Prime Minister, Chiefs of the Armed Forces, Chief Justice of India, and visiting Heads of State, when they arrive at the airport.