The Star Air Embraer 145 aircraft that will be the first to take to the skies from Bengaluru airport on January 15. (Photo | Special Arrangement)
BENGALURU: With the countdown to the maiden flight from Terminal 2 on Sunday at 8.40 am by Star Air fast approaching, massive security checks are being undertaken by security agencies to ensure complete safety before the launch.
Airport operator Bangalore International Airport Limited plans to scale up operations gradually at T2 to ensure the early phase of operations remains smooth. The largest airline operating from Bengaluru, Indigo Airlines, also plans to stay put at Terminal One for now, said sources.
Star Air will fully shift its operations to the new terminal. It only operates the Embraer 145 aircraft that has a maximum passenger seating capacity of 50 plus two cabin crew. VIPs including a few MPs and MLAs will be part of the debut flight but their names were kept under wraps citing security reasons.
"Our first flight (S5-117) from KIA to Kalaburagi has been fully booked. These are business jets operated under the Regional Connectivity Scheme and we want our passengers to experience the spectacular Terminal 2. So we have decided to shift all our operations here," said CA Boppanna, Head of Airport Services at Star Air.
An airline spokesperson claimed its second departing flight from the terminal had received good bookings but refused to divulge details. S5-101 to Hubballi will depart at 11.55 am and reach HBX at 12.55 pm.
Friday saw massive anti-sabotage checks carried out by the dog squad and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad.
"We are taking all precautions to ensure no untoward incident takes place. We have been carrying out multiple checks during the last fortnight," said a top CISF official.
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Top cops including Police Commissioner CH Pratap Reddy visited the new terminal to inspect it.
No aerobridge
An interesting aspect will that the shuttle bus will take the passengers directly from the terminal to the aircraft. "This being a small aircraft, there will be no need of an aerobridge here," an airport source said.
BIAL has deliberately chosen to start off in a small manner with an airline that transports less passengers, another source explained. "They are wary of technical glitches or other teething issues that new airports encounter. The recent problems faced by the second airport at Goa too has made them play very safe," he added.
Other domestic airlines will shift here gradually while international operations will take many months to start, the source said.
An insider said that due to the huge effort involved in shifting its operations to T2, Indigo will not be shifting base. "As of now, we have no plans to shift from T1 to T2," said an Indigo source.
BIAL refused to share any details about the launch.
