Bangaloreans clip BIA’s wings

Bangaloreans clip BIA’s wings


MLAs D K Shivakumar, Dr Hemachandra Sagar, M Srinivas and others at the public meeting on Thursday
Express News Service
First Published : 14 Nov 2008 09:32:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 14 Nov 2008 05:16:47 PM IST

BANGALORE: Criticising the poor facilities at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), Bangaloreans on Thursday gave a thumbsdown to the six-month old airport.

Participating at the public hearing called by the Joint House Committee which is probing into the alleged lapses in the construction of the BIA, around 45 speakers termed the facilities at the airport below international standards.

A majority of them asked the committee, headed by Chickpet MLA Hemachandra Sagar, to take a re-look at the controversial concessional agreement which gives BIA the monopoly over Bangalore’s commercial airspace. A few others wanted the government take over the airport or hand it over to other private players after re-bidding.

Apart from comparing BIA to the Hyderabad International Airport, many other issues such as the reopening of the old HAL Airport, capacity constraints, lack of proper seating and toilet facilities, expensive restaurants in the terminal area, poor connectivity and absence of local Kannada culture in the airport’s architecture were also brought up before the 21-member house committee.

The public also questioned the airport’s promoters, Bangalore International Airport Limited(BIAL), motive behind outsourcing the taxi facilities to private operators.

Committee Chairperson, Sagar told reporters that a majority of people had expressed their unhappiness over the facilities at the airport.

“All the 45 speakers who gave their opinion were not happy with the facilities the airport,” said Sagar. “A majority felt that the facilities at the BIA were only 25 per cent better than the HAL airport”. He added that BIAL CEO Albert Brunner was yet to respond to the questioned posed by the House committee members in the last three meetings.

The committee, he said, was waiting for his reply before the next meeting scheduled to be held in the next 15 days.