Airlines flying in and out of the city are gearing up for a nearly three-month disruption of services, from February next year, with Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL), which operates Kempegowda International Airport, deciding to shut the runway for six-and-a-half hours daily.
While operators are rescheduling their flights, passengers will have to brace for the inconvenience during the shutdown period. The airport’s only runway (09/27) will be closed for operations from February 19 to April 30, 2017. Incidentally, the work on the second runway that began recently, will take about three years for completion.
KIA is India’s third busiest airport with the highest passenger traffic in south India, handles nearly 60,000 passengers a day. The airport saw a footfall of 18.97 million in 2015-16.
Also, for five days prior to the partial closure, the airlines will also have to reschedule their flights with upcoming Aero India, the premier air show of the country, being held at the Air Force Station Yelahanka from February 14 to 18, sources said.
Hari Marar, President, Airport Operations, BIAL, told The Hindu that the decision to take up the infrastructure up gradation also took into consideration the schedule of the Aero India show. “That is why we decided to start work immediately after it concludes,” he said.
Till the time the second runway is ready in about three years, the capacity of the existing runway would have to be increased, he said.
Airline operators said they were rescheduling their flights, moving off-peak-hour flights to peak hours.
The partial runway closure is not during what they consider “peak hours”, which is in the morning and in the evening; and therefore, they would have to make only minor alterations in schedules.
Advanced or delayed
The representative of an airline added that flights that usually operate during the period of closure would be advanced or delayed slightly so as to not inconvenience passengers. “One of our flights will be impacted and we are looking at adjusting the schedule of that flight to maintain our operations to Bengaluru without any disruption and inconvenience to our customers. At present, we have a total of four return flights to Bengaluru,” said a Vistara spokesperson.
While operators are rescheduling their flights, passengers will have to brace for the inconvenience during the shutdown period. The airport’s only runway (09/27) will be closed for operations from February 19 to April 30, 2017. Incidentally, the work on the second runway that began recently, will take about three years for completion.
KIA is India’s third busiest airport with the highest passenger traffic in south India, handles nearly 60,000 passengers a day. The airport saw a footfall of 18.97 million in 2015-16.
Also, for five days prior to the partial closure, the airlines will also have to reschedule their flights with upcoming Aero India, the premier air show of the country, being held at the Air Force Station Yelahanka from February 14 to 18, sources said.
Hari Marar, President, Airport Operations, BIAL, told The Hindu that the decision to take up the infrastructure up gradation also took into consideration the schedule of the Aero India show. “That is why we decided to start work immediately after it concludes,” he said.
Till the time the second runway is ready in about three years, the capacity of the existing runway would have to be increased, he said.
Airline operators said they were rescheduling their flights, moving off-peak-hour flights to peak hours.
The partial runway closure is not during what they consider “peak hours”, which is in the morning and in the evening; and therefore, they would have to make only minor alterations in schedules.
Advanced or delayed
The representative of an airline added that flights that usually operate during the period of closure would be advanced or delayed slightly so as to not inconvenience passengers. “One of our flights will be impacted and we are looking at adjusting the schedule of that flight to maintain our operations to Bengaluru without any disruption and inconvenience to our customers. At present, we have a total of four return flights to Bengaluru,” said a Vistara spokesperson.