BENGALURU: Given rapid rise in passenger traffic over the years, both domestic and international, Bengaluru is one amongst 20 cities in the country that will need a second airport by 2030, a study reportedly being done by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has revealed. This comes even while talks between the government and private agencies are on to reopen HAL airport.
According to sources, the study is expected to be completed in three months after which the reports will be sent to the respective state governments.“The study has shown that Bengaluru is listed amongst 20 cities which have shown a robust increase in passenger numbers. Findings show that there has been a tremendous progress in traffic volumes every quarter. With this, Bengaluru will definitely need a second airport,” said an official from Airports Authority of India, which is conducting the study.
Among the other cities that will need a second airport by 2030 are Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur, Pune, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Patna and Kolkata. Confirming that a study is being undertaken to map the saturation point of the airports across the country, Rajiv Jain, an official of the Press Information Bureau, said, “I am aware that a study is being done by the civil aviation ministry in this regard, but we have not received any details yet,” he said.
Agreeing that Bengaluru will definitely need a second airport, Hari Marar, Managing Director, Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said, “Yes, Bengaluru airport has been identified as the fastest growing in the world. We will definitely need a second one, but don’t know when. I am not aware of the study regarding this, though. But we have an agreement till 2033,” he said.
It must be noted that there has been a growing demand for reopening the HAL airport — located within the city — which was the hub of Bengaluru’s international and domestic air travel till a decade ago. The central and state governments have been in talks with BIAL, the operators of Kempegowda International Airport, to reopen the HAL for domestic flights. But BIAL has been arguing that the development and expansion of KIA is already planned and it will be able to handle the passenger footfall without any trouble.
However, the study done by the ministry does not note only the increase in passengers but also need for more runways, flights, and parking slots for aircrafts. The number of aircraft with scheduled airlines in India has increased by at least 20% in just two years’ time.
Speaking to TNIE, aviation expert Devesh Agarwal said, “Bengaluru needs second airport now, not in 2030. If a proposal is being made by the aviation ministry, it is a good move. One should understand how every airport has two kinds of traffic, Origin Destination Traffic (O&D) and Transit Traffic. India, like London, Paris etc., has high O&D traffic and nottransit traffic. Given the size of the cities in India, transportation within the city is high and individual’s decision to travel is based on destination. He or she residing in Koramangala would want to take a flight from HAL, a resident of Electronics City would want to take a flight from Hosur and anyone is flying long distance might want to go to KIA.”
The reason why Bengaluru doesn’t have a second airport now is because the government’s hands are tied. BIAL is also working on expansion plans which will require an investment of approximately Rs 25,000 crore over the next five years.
HAL airport to be revived?
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Chairman and Managing Director R Madhavan on Friday said that they were in talks with BIAL to revive HAL airport and open it for operations. To a question, Madhavan said the discussions were related to handing over the airport to BIAL in exchange for a ‘reasonable revenue share’. Talks are progressing between the two parties, he said.