Showing posts with label bangalore airport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bangalore airport. Show all posts

Monday, April 21, 2008

Latest BIAL Update: Bangalore Airport Pictures

I received an email from BIAL directly today. They asked me to post the latest pictures shown below. The new scheduled opening date for the airport is May 11, 2008. While some have been critical of the airport's design (which I don't share), my contention is with not providing high speed rail service to the airport from Bangalore CBD. Not having the rail will make the trip for any new arrivals difficult and long. As I have stated before, the roads in India are not smooth and make the ride excruciating for the uninitiated. Overall however, the new airport will give new business people entering Bangalore for the first time more confidence in the area and it signals that India is serious about rebuilding its infrastructure.

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The façade of the Terminal Building and pick up/drop off canopy

The baggage claim area looks very spacious, I’m quite certain we can now say goodbye to crowding around the belts
View of the 53 Check in counters, there will also be an additional 18 self check in kiosks for speedy check in. No more standing in winding queues, worrying about missing your flight
Parking facility to accommodate approximately 2000 cars and 700 employee cars, no hassles finding parking or getting stuck in a jam trying to get your vehicle out here!
Check out the plush Oberoi lounge, Illy café and the Kingfisher Sports Bar in the international section
View of the departure lounge and the departure concourse

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Monday, March 10, 2008

VIDEO: New Bangalore Update Still has a Few Bugs

As the new Bangalore Airport prepares for its first landing, there are still a few bugs to be worked out. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be one of the first flights to land or take off from this airport.

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Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Some more information about Bengaluru International Airport


By Vipin Agnihotri



Yesterday, we gave you first hand information that Bengaluru International Airport is ready for first flight. Today, we are going to give you more information about Bengaluru International Airport.


The runway of Bengaluru International Airport is designed to easily accommodate the B-747 aircraft. It is 4,000 metres long and 60 meters wide, including shoulders. Point to be noted here is that the airport layout design provides a second parallel runway within the site.


Another intriguing thing about this new airport is that it has four airfield fire fighters that have been procured from Austria. These crash fire vehicles, commonly known as the Panthers, have been procured for security purposes and a special capability for off road driving. Generally speaking, crash fire vehicles can go from 0 kmph to 80 kmph in less than 30 seconds. I have a talk with airport authorities and they were of the view that Panthers consists of long-range monitors, fire-fighting equipment, infra red cameras and reverse cameras.


Bengaluru International Airport will also have retail centre, a multi-cuisine food court area, an adventure play area, and a day care facility for the children of the passengers. At the domestic terminal passenger will find Tommy Hilfiger, Odyssey's books, music, flower, and toy shops. What’s more, there is going to be 35 check-in counters and seven passenger gates to facilitate multiple flights coming in at around the same time.


According to sources, the first of the international flights to take off from Bengaluru International Airport will be the Air India flight to Singapore and Dubai. Talking about the domestic circuit, both Bangalore-based airlines Kingfisher and SimplyFly Deccan will be part of the pre-launch tests in the first week of March.


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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Exclusive: Bengaluru (Bangalore) International Airport is ready for first flight


By Vipin Agnihotri



After number of years of deliberation, the Bengaluru International Airport is finally ready. I have full-proof information that the first flight to take off from the newly constructed airport in Bengaluru has been decided as 0001 hours, March 29, 2008.


The pivotal factor here is that up till now Bengaluru did not have a full-fledged airport and was relying on the services of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited airfield. Land for Bengaluru International Airport was first identified at Devanahalli. In terms of statistic, the estimated cost of the project was in the range of Rs 13.34 billion. However with the passage of time the project cost went up to Rs 14.12 billion. And now when everything is completed, the cost stands at Rs 19.30 billion.


Bengaluru International Airport is going to be the third busiest in India with at least 7.5 million passengers using it annually. Furthermore, the airport is expected to have at least 900 domestic flights a week. Another good thing about this airport is that it will have a fully air-conditioned passenger terminal and a two-level building that will play a prominent part in accommodating both international and domestic operations.


According to sources, the arrival and departure portions of Bengaluru International Airport are separated vertically through a straight-ahead flow system for straightforward operation and minimum maintenance. The terminal is designed in such a way that it can easily accommodate around 2,733 passengers during the peak hours.


In terms of design, out of the total 4,300 acres of land earmarked for Bengaluru International Airport, 2,000 acres is occupied by the runway, terminal, air traffic control towers and buildings. On the other hand, the apron area covers 182,000 metres and there shall be 40 aircraft stands.


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Sunday, February 17, 2008

Update #3 Bangalore Airport Pictures

The Bangalore Air Cargo Club (BACC) and Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) are fighting. Members of BACC are upset that BIAL is not being transparent about the infrastructure and functioning of the airport, in just a short month and a few days before opening.

“We’re not against the new airport, but we have no idea how we are going to function there. We have not been given any information about the infrastructure awaiting us,” said Nirmal Singh Sandhu, president of BACC and director of Wilson Sandhu Logistics. “Will there be a cargo village? What is the cargo handling capacity? Will the customs be ready then? We have no idea.”

Trust me folks, that's not a good sign. I'd wait at least 3 months before flying into the airport.

Meanwhile, BIAL is in discussions with major carriers in India to base their domestic and international operations at the airport. At present, airlines such as Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France, Thai Airways, Malaysian Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Gulf Air, Sri Lankan, etc operate to Bangalore. Airlines, especially from the Middle East, have reportedly evinced interest in the project, and a decision is expected to be taken by 2008-end

Main Terminal Finishings

Inside the Main Terminal

Outside the Terminal

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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

WARNING: Avoid air trips to Bangalore

By Vipin Agnihotri

If you have plan a trip to Bangalore by air this year, my suggestion is to avoid it for some time. This is because of the simple reason that the new international airport at Devanahalli will open on March 30, but the roads connecting it to the city will take some time to shape up.

Most of the industrialists are urging government to retain the existing HAL airport till the roads are in order. But looks like Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) are in no mood to listen. According to BIAL sources, you cannot have one airport for long haul and another for short-haul flights.

It is worth mentioning in this regard that Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the defense aerospace public sector undertaking, will lose Rs 150 crore on a yearly basis because of the closure of the present airport.

In my opinion, Bangalore’s air traffic is showing signs of tremendous growth, forcing BIAL to enhance airport capacity by 40 percent. Point to be noted here is that when the project work started in July 2005, yearly traffic was 4 million passengers and cargo 1.6 lakh tonnes. But at this moment of time there are 9 million passengers flying and cargo has shot up to 3 lakh tonnes.

BIAL officials have already said in public that they will expand the airport further after it is open but they are helpless about road connectivity. BIAL is working in collaboration with the government to improve the accessibility to the new airport.

Initial signs are that of the three roadover-bridges proposed, two will be ready by the airport opening date. But the third one, leading to the airport, will take four more months as it is cleared of litigations only now.

On the other hand, the existing tracks of Railways are not available for short-distance trains. But the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has offered to come up with a high-speed rail link to the airport. The National Highways authority is also working overtime to widen the NH 7 into an eight-lane expressway.

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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Bangalore City Center to the New Bangalore Airport in 25 minutes


There is a detailed project report (DPR) from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for Infrastructure Development Corporation, Government of Karnataka of a high speed rail link from Cubbon Road to the upcoming Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli has been submitted to the government. The rail link will cost Rs 3,716 crore and will enable passengers to reach Devanahalli from Cubbon Road in 25 minutes flat versus 75 to 90 minutes by road.


This was said by S N Venkata Rao, advisor and project director, DMRC during the 44th MEA Commemoration lecture on ‘High speed rail link from city centre to new international airport at Bangalore (Devanahalli)’. According to Mr Rao if the project gets the approval from the government, initially 10 trains at a frequency of 10 minutes will ferry passengers from check-in-station at Cubbon Road to the internodal transport station at Hebbal, from where it will move to Yelahanka and will finally reach the airport terminal at a maximum speed of 160 km per hour.


“Two city air terminals have been planned, where air passengers can check in and take boarding passes at the police ground between M G Road and Cubbon Road and beyond Hebbal flyover. This project will not interfere with the Bangalore metro rail project.”

By 2011 the estimated air traffic at the new airport per annum will be 17.2 million and rail passengers will be 40,753 per day, Mr Rao added.


According to the DPR, each train will have six coaches, of which one half of a coach would accommodate checked-in baggage. The maximum speed would be 160 km per hour, and 10 trains were proposed to run at frequent intervals. Initially, the train frequency could be 10 minutes and could later be reduced to six and four minutes.


Other Bangalore Airport Articles



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Friday, October 19, 2007

Bangalore Airport City Update and Pictures


As the Bangalore Airport nears completion, we wanted to highlight some other development occurring around the Airport. This area is generally referred to as Airport City, but we believe the site is the genesis of a new Bangalore. Why a new Bangalore you ask? Because “old Bangalore” simply can’t support modern infrastructure without extremely expensive improvements. It’s much less expensive and easier to develop new infrastructure from scratch than to rebuild an entire city full of old Infrastructure.


We recognize the process of moving old Bangalore to New Bangalore will take decades, but the stake is being place in the proverbial ground now. Below we highlight the latest renderings from the BIAL Airport website




The Layout


Bangalore Airport City Downtown Area





Technology Area



Airport Hotel by the Oberoi Group



The Airport City Downtown area will consist of retail, urban entertainment, office buildings, and hospitality facilities. It will also have metro station once the Bangalore metro network is linked to the Airport. New companies moving to India may want to consider a location here in the next 5 years. Currently there is little quality housing around the area, but in the future, this will be the power corridor for Bangalore business.


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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

BREAKING NEWS: New Bangalore Airport Due to be Open March 28, 2008


It appears a race for India’s next airport is on. While Hyderabad has an opening date of April 2nd, 2008, the new Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli has just announced their opening will be March 28, 2008. Thus in a time span of only a few days, two major airports will be opening for the first time in the country since the Kochi airport in 1999.


The Bangalore International Airport Limited, the special purpose vehicle created to construct and run the airport by the consortium consisting of Siemens, Larson and Toubro and Zurich Airport, has written to the civil aviation ministry setting March 28 for the inauguration of the Rs 1,930-crore project. It has requested that the prime minister be invited by the ministry to inaugurate the venture.

We’ll see which airport opens first, but my money is still on Hyderabad’s new airport.


More Bangalore Airport pictures


The terminal will have three floors: domestic arrivals and baggage handling / claim, international arrivals and domestic and international departures.


Not only will the airport initially attract between five and six million passengers per year but it will also employ upwards of 4,500 staff to run the facility.


The airport facilities will also include a large retail centre, a multi cuisine food court area and an adventure play area / day care facilities for the children of passengers.


Suggested Reading

New Chennai International Airport (Pictures)

Updated Picture of the New Chennai International Airport Terminal

New Kolkata International Airport High Resolution Pictures

Video: New Delhi International Airport Terminal 3

Updated Pictures of the New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport

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Monday, August 20, 2007

New Bangalore Airport Pictures


These are the latest updated pictures of the Bangalore airport slated for completion in May 2008. I am not sure if they are going to meet that deadline, but judging by the pictures below, they seem to making decent progress. As I stated in my last post on the New Delhi International Airport the new airports all around India are an important symbol of India’s modernization and will give confidence to foreign investors.



(Click to enlarge)










Pictures Courtesy of User Magestom



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