BENGALURU: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Thursday disclosed that the Karnataka government has not sent any proposal to the Government of India (GoI) regarding a second airport in the city, following the pre-feasibility studies conducted for it by the Airport Authority of India (AAI).
In response to queries by Bangalore Central MP PC Mohan in the Parliament on Thursday, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said pre-feasibility studies has been conducted on three sites and a report sent to the Karnataka government, pending response. The central government has not received any proposal from either the Government of Karnataka (GoK) or any airport developer following the studies conducted by the AAI, he added.
The construction of another airport or the upgradation of an existing airport within a 150-km aerial radius of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), before the 25th anniversary of the airport’s opening, would require an explicit consent from Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL).
KIA, which was opened for service back in May 2008, will mark its 25th anniversary in 2033. However, this is not applicable for developing Mysuru and Hassan as domestic airports, the minister stated in the response.
Mohan’s queries regarding the potential second airport also included repeated references to the possibility of reopening the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) Airport for commercial passenger operations. Mohol’s response, despite not including a mention of the HAL Airport, suggested that its (civil) operation or upgradation, like those of any existing airport within the aforementioned aerial radius of KIA, would be up to the discretion of BIAL as per the aforementioned agreement.