Bangalore Airport reaches saturation stage!
According to a report in today’s papers, HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) said that the Bangalore Airport could not handle anymore flights.
The airport is designed to handle only about 3.6 million passengers every year but is operating way above its capacity (6 million is the reported figure). Saturation, besides creating huge problems in the airport, also increases risk in the air. Every two minutes there is one landing or take off during peak hours. This huge increase can be attributed to the large number of State-owned and private airlines that operate today. We have seen many new low cost airlines enter the scene lately as the war for air space hots up.
Bangalore Airport today is the third busiest one in the country though its infrastructure has not kept pace. While the new airport plans are still on, that will definitely take another five years going by the pace at which developments take place in the state. I guess until that opens, things are going to get a little crowded both in the air and in the airports…
Few months back i decided to travel fro Dubai to bangalore (generally i go to hyderabad form dubai)… WTF!?
it was a 3.5hr flight… at the same time Air india from Oman also landed… now 2 flights thats sums up to some 300+ travellers..
and 1 conver belt rotating all the luguage..
all were worried as it was more than an hour and none got their luguage..
all decided to shout at the airport Guy.. i dunno someone in uniform.. he bluntly said ” I AM HELPLESS” then i asked “whome do we contact to” he says “i DONT KNOW” now all saw only him in the cabin..
It was a waste of time standing.. no seating was provided.. we had to sit on trollies.. i dunno how its going to take more passengers when it cant handle 2 flights..
i woul drate Hyderabad’s current airport 5 times better than what bangalore has..
i dont understand why are they delying so much to make that devanhalli airport..
wht do they need… can i have any url or any stats of the work progress…and what exactly is their problem..
GOD HELP US…
Mr. CM please read these blogs..
The other day I was returning from Chennai and upon approaching Bangalore, the pilot was asked to wait for 20 mins before approaching landing stretch. So, we did a big aerial darshan of Bangalore before coming back to the same place and taking the landing approach. And like Santosh mentions above, baggage handling is in total mess.
Well let me start from getting a Parking..not planned n less keeping in mind inflow/outflow at the airport.
Last Sunday was coming back from Delhi…4 flts reached at approx the same time…
now 2 Conveyor Belts handling the baggage of 4 different flts…i just cant explain how difficult is was to get our luggage…soo much confusion…BIG PAIN….
n the biggest fear is exchange of luggage…cuz have seen/heard quite a few cases these days where ppl just walk out with some1 else’s bag.
Getting a trolley is also a difficult job..n man why dont these ppl throw away the old,small ones they have…time to change them
n then the queue at the pre-paid taxi stand…my my wat to say….keep waiting for your turn
All in All its a nightmare
Yes, it has surpassed future projections as well.
Not too different from the other major airports in India.
The new BIAL was supposed to handle 5 million passengers – which is why its plans are being upgraded as well.
This is also why we need to proceed with modernisation and privatisation at break-neck pace!
One way to lessen the chaos and the crowd is to prevent entry of relatives and “well-wishers” into the lobby of the airport. Why should they allow Maama, Maami, Auntie, Uncle, Neighbor Janakamma, RamaRao Uncle, Murali, Suresha, Ramesha, and every Subba and Subbi into the airport?… It’s no longer the 1950s or 1960s when we all looked up thrilled to see a Bombay-bound Caravelle plane in the sky and the Bangalore airport was a popular picnic spot for those who had already seen Lalbagh and Cubbon Park.
In a space-starved airport area, I think they should allow only passengers with valid tickets to be inside the lounge area. Others can wait at home. It’s time we grew up!!
In the Atlanta airport, which is the world’s “busiest” airport now, non-passengers cannot enter the gates at all. You have to a valid ticket to even enter the gates. Of course, the lobbies are huge enough to accomodate large crowds, but the departure and arrival areas are thankfully free of greeters. At the HAL Chaos-Port, why can’t passengers themselves take the responsibility of going and coming alone? At least, the requisite ritual of “garlanding” is not in practice anymore, or the busloads of friends and relatives who would come to say “Taata Taata” to Uncle! Thankfully, Devanahalli will be far enough for Taatha and Ajji to stay home!