Airport opening hits air pocket
30 Mar 2008, 0517 hrs IST, Anshul Dhamija, TNN

BANGALORE: Polls could be the spoiler this time. As the Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahalli dresses itself up for the revised inauguration date of May 11, uncertainty hangs threateningly low. With assembly elections likely to be held in May, the code of conduct for political parties could kick in anytime soon, either delaying the airport inauguration or stripping the event of its pomp.

According to top civil aviation ministry officials, under the electoral code of conduct, BIA would be allowed to have an informal opening minus the gala function. This clearly forbids any politician from participating in the inauguration. Top Karnataka government officials confirmed this. Senior BIAL officials told STOI the assessment of whether there's to be a function or not will be based on the "collective decision" taken by BIAL and the civil aviation ministry.

Now comes the question: will the Rs 2,500-crore greenfield airport open on May 11? Not likely. The airport may take off only after the elections are over. A delay of two months is no big surprise.

The run-up to the opening of Hyderabad airport, which shared a symbiotic construction relationship with the Bangalore one, saw a lot of fanfare. A similar gala event in Bangalore is, therefore, only to be expected. Both BIA and Hyderabad airport are the first mega greenfield international airports developed under public-private partnership. Sources said all eyes are now on the whip that will be issued from New Delhi. Sources close to top BIAL officials said the senior management of the new airport has resigned to the fact that the opening date depends entirely on political compulsions and pressures.

STOI had earlier reported that the Centre's directive of asking the BIA to choose an opening date post May 10 would directly coincide with assembly poll calendar. Any further postponement would give the governor's cabinet, which's holding the administrative reins in the power vacuum that prevails now, ample time to finetune the infrastructure apparatus.

Poor connectivity and high costs that people would have to endure with the opening of the new airport seem to have put political parties, especially the Congress, on the backfoot. Sources said the Congress high command is cued into the developments and is in touch with the civil aviation minister.

Even in Hyderabad, a political game was played out in the airport opening. The scheduled opening date - April 16 - was pushed to April 22 expecting Parliament to go into recess. With this, the government steered clear of Left or the opposition barbs.

Govt wants it to charge only international passengers initially, on the lines of the new Hyderabad airport

Tarun Shukla
New Delhi

http://www.livemint.com/2008/03/27005013/Ministry-new-Bangalore-airpor.html

The operator of the Bengaluru International Airport, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) has declined a suggestion from the ministry of civil aviation that it waive a controversial fee it plans to levy on passengers when it opens for operations in the second week of May.

BIAL, a Siemens AG-led consortium, wants to charge Rs240 from each domestic passenger and Rs520 on each international ticket from 11 May for the first two months and increase these to Rs675 and Rs955, respectively, thereafter.

This proposed charge, called user development fee, or UDF, also planned at the new GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL)-run Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is in addition to a Rs225 passenger service fee that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) levies on all airline tickets and taxes on such charges. The fee, to be eventually fixed by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority when it is set up, is designed to partly help the airport developers recover their investments in the new airport complexes.

The other members of the BIAL consortium are Larsen and Toubro Ltd, Unique Zurich Airport (which operates the international airport at Zurich, Switzerland), India's AAI and the Karnataka government.

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad, which opened for commercial service on Sunday, has agreed to the civil aviation ministry's request to keep an all-inclusive UDF of up to Rs1,000 limited to international passengers while sparing domestic commuters for at least the
first three months of operations.

BIAL, a senior ministry official said, has written to it saying the airport cannot waive fees as the Hyderabad operator has done and has asked for a meeting with civil aviation minister Praful Patel to explain its stance. A BIAL spokeswoman said the matter was "currently under discussion" with the government.

The government wants BIAL to follow the same structure as Hyderabad as there cannot be two sets of exceptions.

"As it is, there are problems, this is only aggravating it further," said the ministry official, who did not want to be identified, referring to the lack of proper connectivity to the new airport and demands of keeping the old airport open. "We are not in any way saying that (the BIAL) demand will not be considered-partially or fully. All we are saying is that let the transition happen smoothly."

Both BIAL and GHIAL have to submit their total audited financial cost to the ministry after the first three months, following which a final figure for UDF will be calculated based on the shortfall in airport revenues. The charges sought by the two airports as of now, the same official said, are meant to recover the project cost within five years, while the agreement allows that period to be up to 15 years. If the cost is spread out over 15 years, the consequent UDF can be reduced for the passengers, something the two sides can agree once actual costs are submitted by the operators mandatorily.

However, given the current argument and counter arguments between the ministry and BIAL, the waiver on domestic passenger UDF is unlikely to be resolved before the coming fortnight when BIAL is expected to make its presentations.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation is likely to complete its technical evaluation of the new Bangalore airport at Devanahalli in the first week of April to grant it an aerodrome licence after which Air India's flight to Singapore at 12.05 hours on 11 May will formally mark the inauguration of the international -airport.

"At London Heathrow Terminal 5 we’ve created a natural, logical journey that’s so calm, you’ll flow through. It should only take ten minutes to get from check-in to departures"

This is the promise British Airways makes about the new super large, super luxurious, $8.6 billion Terminal 5 or T5, at London Heathrow airport. Capable of handling 30 million passengers, this ONE uber-terminal, is 13.76 times bigger than our entire BIAL or RGIA airport in financial outlay.

The reality on opening day ...... 20% flights cancelled, thousands of passengers stranded without baggage, check-in queues so long that check-in itself was suspended and passengers told to either check-in without baggage, or go home or a hotel. The reason offered by British Airways .... "staff familiarisation problems" which lead to a total collapse of the baggage, security, and check-in systems.

At the same time, across the world, right here at Bangalore HAL airport, while a Kingfisher ATR plane is taking off, a dog runs across the runway and crashes in to the aircraft. The impact breaks the nose wheel of the aircraft which skids and blocks the runway. The result, is a 4 hour shut down of the airport with scores of flights diverted to alternate airports. The resultant disruption heaps misery on all stake holders from passengers to employees to cargo.

This form of systemic collapse has occurred before. When Chep Lap Kok, Hong Kong's state of the airport opened, the entire freight terminal collapsed for a period of 2 weeks. The economic impact was felt all the way around the world, with prices of electronic goods and Pentium processors shooting up 500%. Airport closures due to runway disruption have been experienced, not just at Bangalore HAL, but also at India's mega airports, Mumbai and Delhi, and very recently, at London Heathrow airport.

Both incidences highlight, that despite the best planning, best capabilities, and best intentions, things can, and do go wrong. Given the critical nature and role of airports today, it is crucial to have backup systems.

Terminal 5 at Heathrow, may not have any backup options, but in the case of Bangalore, we have the option of keeping HAL airport open instead of closing it down.

In The Times of India, Bangalore, on Tuesday, March 25, 2007, page 22 featured an article by Mr. Albert Brunner, CEO of BIAL. In response to the challenge issued at the end of the article I put forth my own list to debunk certain myths created by BIAL. I have sent this response to The Times of India. Hopefully the will publish it.

Myth : Those who want HAL to continue are enemies of BIAL.

Totally untrue. We want two airports, not one. We welcome BIAL, but not exclusively. With pride, we congratulate the efforts and achievements of the BIAL consortium, including the Governments. We also realise that given Bangalore's growth, we need to consider a third airport in the next 15 years, let alone debate about keeping two airports open today.

Reality : The airport will saturate in the first year.

As per documents filed in court on behalf of BIAL and Ministry of Civil Aviation and its agencies, BIAL capacity ranges from 9 million to 11.5 million. However, BIAL has projected in November 2007, to IATA and airlines, traffic of 13.2 million in the first year itself, implying a capacity shortfall in the first year.

Reality : Runway capacity will saturate at BIAL

The maximum recommended ATM by IATA is 550 per day or 200,000 per year, given certain operational conditions that BIAL has not yet met. Mumbai airport, with India's most experienced air traffic controllers, achieves 720 daily ATMs with 2 runways. 550 from the main runway, and 170 on the second.

Mumbai, achieved 20 million passengers with these 720 daily ATMs. Also, Mumbai has a lot more international flights, when compared to Bangalore, which use large aircraft, and therefore achieve more passengers with fewer aircraft movements. Even, if we discount the advantages of an experienced ATC and larger aircraft, and apply the Mumbai figures to Bangalore, at the maximum permitted 200,000 ATMs per year, the maximum theoretical capacity at BIAL will be 15.22 million per runway. BIAL has projected to IATA and airlines committee traffic of 15.6 million in 2nd year of operation.

The single runways will saturate after one year.

As per BIAL the second runway is expected to be commissioned only in 2012 or 2013. What about growth in the interim period ? Even on a war footing, BIAL cannot construct a fully operational runway with required rapid exit and parallel taxiways in 1~2 years.

Reality : BIAL continues to under-estimate Bangalore's growth

In 2005, just before airport construction started, BIAL appointed Lufthansa Consulting, projected a "most optimistic" estimate of Bangalore air traffic, in 2010 at 10.19 million passengers, and in 2015 at 13.92 million. Bangalore air traffic crossed the 2010 estimate in 2007, and will cross the 2015 estimate in 2008. In the 3 years approximately, that BIAL took to construct the new airport, the air traffic has grown 255% from 4.1 million to 10.5+
million; a growth just not anticipated, let alone planned for. Since 2002, Bangalore air traffic has doubled every 3 years i.e. a CAGR of 33% per year. Yet BIAL continues to estimate growth, even today, at only 12.45% per year over the next 5 years. Why ?

Myth : BIAL will achieve a capacity of 50 MPPA (Million Passengers Per Year)

BIAL claims an ultimate capacity of 50 MPPA (Million Passengers Per Year). The only airport in the world which serves 50 MPPA with two runways is London Heathrow; consistently voted as the "worst major airport in the world", that too with 5 terminals compared to 2 at BIAL. The Mumbai experience detailed above shows us that BIAL can grow to a maximum of 30.5 million passengers; which will be achieved by 2016 even by BIAL's ultra-conservative growth rates.

Myth : You need 100 million passengers to justify 2 airports.

New York had 3 airports, when the traffic was only 4.33 million. Today, these three airports have grown TOGETHER, to serve 100 million passengers. India is clubbed in the world economies with Brazil. Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro, each have 2 airports, an in-city smaller airport handling only domestic flights, operating in parallel, with an out of city larger airport which handles both international and domestic flights. In both cities, both airports are commercial successes.

Myth : BIAL is fully prepared for the air cargo needs of Bangalore.

45% of Bangalore's total trade, over Rs. 50,000 Crores, is sent as air cargo every year. The air cargo complex at BIAL is not fully ready. Only Menzies aviation warehouse is fully ready. AI-SATS is not. In any case, these two operators only service the airlines. BIAL is now doing fire-fight planning, erecting office facilities for the over 350 cargo and customs agents who service the needs of industry, but that is at least one year away. BIAL can look to the existing warehouse operators MSIL and AI JWG as an interim warehousing facility. India spends over 13% of its product costs in logistics costs compared to less than 6% in the developed world, which BIAL represents.

Concern : Aero India show

Aero India show at Yelahanka Aviation and aeronautics is the next boom industry for Bangalore. Governments of India and Karnataka, and the Indian Air Force have invested crores of rupees developing the infrastructure at Yelahanka Air Force Base and promoting Aero India show. BIAL is about 4 nautical miles away. Will Aero India become another casualty as a result of
BIAL ?

A hearty congratulations to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Hyderabad for finally getting operational. Similar congratulations are due to BIAL very soon.

An even heartier and resounding congratulations to the domestic airlines, for showing to RGIA management, what we individual consumers will be unable to -- even a monopolistic airport cannot expect to charge unreasonable fees.

The ground handling agents at RGIA, Menzies Aviation and Air India - Singapore Air Terminal Services (AI-SATS), who incidentally are the cargo handling agents at BIAL, wanted to charge airlines 200% of their present costs. Airlines are bleeding losses and rebelled at this move. They outright refused to operate to the new airport. The RGIA management quickly back-tracked and the Government of India allowed airlines to continue to do their own ground handling. Naturally, the royalties due from the two ground handling agents to RGIA, has been slashed from 25% to 5%.

For the airlines, deploying their aircraft to an alternate city is a viable option. There is enough demand across the country. The loss would have been felt by the average citizen of Hyderabad and the management of RGIA.

Airlines have threatened a similar action if BIAL imposes unreasonable charges on them. So the costs will have to be borne by you and me, the individual traveller.

Lest we forget, Menzies and AI-SATS are the cargo handling agents at BIAL. If they have a similar price hike planned for Bangalore, be ready to pay more for everything from computers to cell phones, to fruits.

As Edward R. Murrow put it -- "GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK"!!!!

Date:24/03/2008
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/03/24/stories/2008032450560600.htm

Madhumathi D.S.

Bangalore operator likely to steal the thunder

Neck-and-neck

BIAL expects traffic of least 11 million passengers the first year, while Hyderabad expects 7 million

Cargo movement at Bangalore is 1.25 lakh tonnes, almost thrice Hyderabad's 43,000 tonnes.

The two new international airports could well be another hare-and-tortoise story. The GMR consortium-built Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Hyderabad may have stolen a small march, time-wise, over the Bengaluru counterpart by opening on March 23. However, a launch hiccup apart, it looks like the Bangalore operator will be stealing the thunder eventually at the cash counters.

BIA's promoter consortium Siemens-Unique Zurich-L&T may have hit a gold-mine at Devanahalli, going by just the air traffic numbers, according to what Business Line gathered from neutral industry-watchers. Airport company BIAL (Bangalore International Airport Ltd) has not shared any revenue expectations so far.

By BIAL's reckoning, Bengaluru should be ending the first year with at least 11 million passengers and grow at 20 per cent each year. Hyderabad, which has seen similar investment of nearly Rs 2,500 crore, expects traffic of some 7 million.

This traffic will be the main revenue source initially, and the user fees to be levied on departing passengers is seen as a major cash cow, apart from air-side revenues such as landing-parking fees; and royalties from cargo and ground-handling agencies.

FIRST TO POST

Bangalore's attraction for airlines will be undeniably greater than Hyderabad's, and it could break even in the second year itself, one observer said. If HAL airport last year made a turnover of Rs 650 crore, BIAL could make at least thrice that figure during the first full year. Similar international airports break even in seven-eight years. The prime 4,000-acre airport land is another golden goose, as land rates have appreciated sharply to a couple of crores an acre.

On the flip side, BIAL is straightaway mulling another expenditure for a second runway and terminal expansion at Rs 2,500 crore. Also, the 40-day delay until May 11 may have meant a revenue dent of around Rs 150 crore a month, the observer reckoned. The Bangalore project was always a tad ahead of Hyderabad: re-conceived in the public-private form in 1999; awarded in 2001; its CA (concession agreement) signed in July 2004, five months ahead
of Hyderabad.

The two have been neck and neck, paving the same odds; and completed at the same time at comparable costs. They even eye the same pie in the sky and on ground.

BIAL seeks to handle 420-440 movements a day (HAL is creaking at 350 civilian movements). Growing at 30 per cent annually, Bangalore is set for 13 million in the second year and 15 million in 2012.

LUCRATIVE GROWTH

Bangalore's air traffic started galloping in 2002, but everyone misread it. It has soared almost five-fold in seven years: from 2.3 million in 2001, to 3.5 million in 2002, when the shareholders came on; to 5 million (2005) and now 10-11 million (2007).

In fact, Lufthansa Consulting in 2005 had forecast 8.7 million traffic for 2010. So much so that BIAL had to insert a Rs 500-crore or 40 per cent expansion midway through the construction. Cargo, too, looks lucratively poised at Bangalore; the present movement of 1.25 lakh tonnes at Bangalore is almost thrice Hyderabad's 43,000 tonnes.

Indian airports earn 75-80 per cent of their revenue from aeronautical business and the rest from non-aero activities, such as duty-free, retail and F&B. This is just the opposite of the European model, after which BIA is fashioned.

Devesh's notes :

The traffic at HAL airport has crossed 10.5 MPPA (Million Passengers Per Annum) by the end of 2007. BIAL has projected a traffic of 13.2 MPPA for its first year of operations, and 15.6 MPPA for the second. Therefore, the financial returns to BIAL consortium will only be at an accelerated pace. However, the demand for a second runway has moved to NOW!!, which begs the question, what will Bangalore do for the interim period ? Unlike terminal capacity, runway capacity is inflexible.

17 Mar, 2008, 0600 hrs IST, Nirbhay Kumar, TNN
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/New_user_fee_for_domestic_fliers_grounded_at_Rs_200/articleshow/2872347.cms

NEW DELHI: In a major relief to domestic passengers, the civil aviation ministry has told developers of the new international airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore to restrict user development fee (UDF) to Rs 200 instead of the initially-proposed amounts that were three times higher. However, the ministry is open to the idea of higher airport charges for international passengers.

UDF is in addition to passenger service fee (PSF) of Rs 225 levied at airports across the country. The ministry's intervention means the GMR-Malaysian Airports team, developer of the Hyderabad airport, and Siemens-Zurich airport consortium, developer of the Bangalore airport, have to restrict UDF to Rs 200 in the case of domestic passengers till the proposed Airport Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) is set up for regulating airport charges.

In the first four months of operation, the new airports are free to levy airport charges of their choice. However, they have to seek government approval for their tariffs after this period and that is when the ceiling of Rs 200 per passengers would kick in.

As of now GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL) plans to collect Rs 1,000 from every passenger taking an international flight from the new airport. There will be no charge for domestic passengers during the initial period. After this period, domestic passengers would pay Rs 650 each time they depart from the new Hyderabad airport.

Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) plans to collect Rs 520 from each passenger -- for both domestic as well as international services initially. However, the tariff would increase to Rs 675 in case of domestic passengers and Rs 950 in the case of international passengers after two months.

Passengers are left with no option but to pay the steep levy as the old airports at both cities are being closed. Apart from forking out higher airport charges, passengers are also faced with higher cab charges since the two airports are located outside the cities.

"We may agree to higher UDF for international passengers, but charging a steep fee from domestic passengers is out of question," a ministry official said. It is understood airlines have complained that high airport charges would turn air travel unviable on short-haul routes. The aviation ministry is of the view that developers have long concession periods to recover their
cost and steep tariffs would be a heavy burden on travellers.

"The UDF private developers have proposed is completely unreasonable. But they should remember that they can collect such fees only for 120 days according to the concession agreement. They have to get their fee approved by us after this period. We feel airport charges of Rs 150 to Rs 200 from domestic passengers would be the most reasonable," the official said.

"It's very unfortunate that government is playing the part of regulator by interfering into fixing the tariff. It was expected that regulator would be in place at the time of opening of Bangalore and Hyderabad airports but it has not happened as expected," Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's India head Kapil Kaul said.

"Lenders gave money to private developers on the basis of their plan to collect UDF as principle source of revenue. The airport projects are funded on debt-equity basis. Incorporating UDF as source of revenue is a necessity for the companies if they have to be viable," he said.

The government has proposed setting up of AERA to regulate airport tariff and create competition among airports. It might take some time before the regulator is put in place as a Parliamentary standing committee headed by Sitaram Yechury is reviewing the AERA Bill. The bill is likely to be re-introduced in Parliament in the monsoon session.

GHIAL, a joint venture of GMR Group (63%), Airports Authority of India (13%), Andhra Pradesh government (13) and Malaysian Airports Holding Berhad (11%), has invested Rs 2,478 crore to build the greenfield airport in Hyderabad. The debt:equity ratio of the project stands at 2.1:1.

For the new Bangalore airport, BIAL, a consortium led by Siemens (40%), Unique Zurich and L&T (17% each), Airports Authority of India and KSIIDC (13% each) has invested Rs 2,470 crore. While equity, state support, internal accruals and security deposits contributed 35% to the total project cost, the remaining 65% was raised as debt.

The UDF component was included in the concession agreement to let developers recover their cost, considering the airport would be new and hence little scope of non-aeronautical revenue such as retail and hospitality. It may be noted here that Kochi international airport, the first private commercial airport in the country, collected a UDF of Rs 500 for many years, finally withdrawing it in January 2006.

In the concession agreement between the government and private developers GHIAL and BIAL, neither the UDF amount nor the period for which it would be collected has been specified.

18-Mar-2008

http://indiaaviation.aero/news/airline/8181/59/Bangalore-International-Airport-Ltd-(BIAL)-will-not-follow-a-cross-subsidization-tariff-policy

According to Banglore HAL International Airport, the new Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) is likely to spare domestic passengers from the user development fee (UDF).

In recent days GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd's (GHIAL) made its decision to charge $25 (about Rs 1,000) as UDF on international passengers from the new airport at Shamshabad, which is scheduled to launch commercial operations 'next week'.

The BIAL, which is destined to launch its operations from 11 May 08, will not follow a cross-subsidization tariff policy. On the other hand there shall a charge of UDF amounting to INR675 on domestic passengers and INR955 on international passengers.

What has been found from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BIAL Albert Brunner is that it would not be fair to levy charges on international passengers and save the domestic passengers when both of them would be using the same infrastructure. Speaking on this Brunner said, "The International Air Transport Association (IATA) can question airports if they charge a fee to international passengers and nothing to domestic passengers when both are using same facilities."

Nevertheless, the recent developments are quite different to the statement of the BIAL Chief. This includes the forceful stances of the domestic carriers who are gearing up to lobby for a waiver of the fee on the domestic sector.

On this Ramki Sundaram, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Deccan Aviation said, "The question is: What impact such a move (charging UDF from domestic passengers), would have on business, especially on short haul routes. Both (airport and airlines) would be at a disadvantage (business-wise). We have requested both airports to take a long-term view on this."

(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 18-Mar-08.

One March 19th, I received this comment on one of my posts. It deserves posting on the blog. Thanks to the commenter.

There is more than enough commerce in Bangalore to support another airport. Speeding up travel of people and products only improves an economy.

The market place, consumers and producers, determine usage. Government can implement rules of conduct (procedures) but no one, including the self-proclaimed smartest people in the world, often found working in government, can accurately predict a marketplace. The market place determines itself.

If consumers of airport services do not find the airport a convenient and profitable place to do business, it will not be used.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 5:25:00 PM IST

Aircraft parking requests flood HAL
By Rasheed Kappan, DH News Service, Bangalore:

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Mar202008/state2008032058473.asp

Bangalore's HAL Airport will allot parking spaces for at least 40 to 50 business jets within a year.

But amidst a sudden flood of parking requests from corporates across the country, Airport officials are worried about giving a firm long-term commitment. Reason: Unscheduled landings and take-offs of such flights might interfere with regular operations, and pose problems if the airport is later retained for commercial flights.

Highly placed sources told Deccan Herald that several corporates including the Reliance Group, Indus Aviation, the TVS Group, and the UB Group had sought HAL Airport's permission to park their business jets. Since parking is a huge revenue earner for the airport, HAL has reportedly agreed to sanction conditional permission to the companies, it is learnt.

Rs 918 parking charges
For instance, the airport levies Rs 918 per day as parking charge for an ATR-42 aircraft. The daily parking charge is about Rs 3,200 for an Airbus 320 and between Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,400 for a Boeing 737. Parking is free for the first two hours, says a top airport official.

HAL airport is likely to feel the revenue pinch once it is closed after the scheduled launch of the Devanahalli-based Bengaluru International Airport on May 11. Set to lose about Rs 250 crore annually, the parking fee revenues might be small compensation. Yet, the Airport would prefer to keep it, provided it does not run into trouble later if the facility is retained for
commercial operations. While the Reliance Group is keen to park its jet at the airport, Indus Aviation has proposed to use the parking space for two to three of its training facility aircraft.

Aviator India is another firm that has approached the airport to place its two aircraft. Private aviation firm CBAS also wants to park its Hawker 900 XP aircraft at the HAL airport, sources told this newspaper. The UB Group has plans to put at least two helicopters at the parking facility.

Requests to go up
With several business houses poised to acquire private aircraft in the near future, the airport officials expect the number of parking requests to go up shortly.

But the airport is unlikely to allot more than 50 parking slots, sources said.

Doubts over air safety at Devanahalli airport
V. Sridhar

http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/20/stories/2008032057410600.htm

Bangalore: For an airport that was to commence operations in March, now postponed to May, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) facility ought to have been up and running. Instead, on a mid-March morning, just six weeks away from the date of commissioning of the airport, chaos reigns at the ATC facility at the international airport in Devanahalli.

Highly skilled controllers, instead of working at their consoles, are counting tables and chairs and discussing the blinds that should be put on the windows to prevent light from falling directly on the screens that will monitor traffic at the airport.

That the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) missed the March deadline is well known, but has it also cut corners? Controllers are apprehensive about air safety at the new airport.

In response to a specific question posed by The Hindu about employees’ apprehension that a single lift at the ATC may compromise safety, Albert Brunner, CEO of BIAL, said, “Care has been taken to ensure that safety standards are met as per international standards.” He said the various buildings within the airport “have been built after taking approvals from the respective authorities.”

Controllers at Devanahalli also said the runway lacked central lights, which are embedded along the centre of the runway, to aid visual navigation by pilots as they land or take off.

Many readers have been posting very thoughtful and eloquent comments on my blog. Thank you.

I use part of a comment from one - "If consumers of airport services do not find the airport a convenient and profitable place to do business, it will not be used."

Feedback Business Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd., did a survey of about 1,150 passengers at HAL Bangalore airport. Without belittling electronic, web, or phone surveys, this was a face-to-face survey of actual passengers involving considerable effort, and thus, is the most honest and un-biased opinion, anyone can hope to get.

The survey was conducted between 26/Feb and 1/Mar 2008, from 6AM to 10PM, across a wide cross section of passengers -- frequent vs. occasional flyers, Bangalore/Karnataka residents vs. non residents, business vs. leisure travellers, across gender, across age groups (19 - 55+ years), arriving and departing passengers.

The results :

• 70.7% of those surveyed said they will be adversely or significantly adversely impacted by closure of HAL airport
  
• 81.3% agreed with the statement "I feel that the connectivity to the new BIAL airport at Devanahalli is not yet in place and HAL airport needs to be kept open"
• 71.4% said that all parties should sit down and work out a mutually beneficial arrangement
• Only 19.4% agreed with the statement "I think the government should close HAL airport as set out in the agreement, irrespective of any public inconvenience in the short term"
• 77.8% felt that "Longer travel time to the new BIAL airport at Devanahalli will adversely affect the productivity of businesses in Bangalore"
• 72.5% said "Bangalore's economy is growing rapidly and it is desirable to keep existing infrastructure like HAL airport open to handle rising demand".

Proponents of an exclusive BIAL should learn from the long commutes endured by all Bangaloreans in our daly lives, and the loss of productivity that is resulting. No matter how benevolent or well intended, monopolies only stifle economic activity, never encourage it.

The consumers are speaking and sensible heads in Government, in BIAL, and in HAL, should prevail on the BIAL promoters to listen to the voice of reason, come together, and work out a solution, QUICKLY.

Otherwise, citizens of Bangalore, will act ................. at the ballot box and at the ticket counter ........ at the bus stand and railway station.

Air travel in India has boomed due to the introduction of low cost airlines (LCCs) which have opened air travel to the masses. Their air fares are highly competitive with the upper classes of train fares. Even United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi said, "air travel was not elitist any more", when inaugurating the new airport at Hyderabad. Despite this boom, less than 2% of India's population travels by air.

Despite many requests from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the BIAL consortium wants to levy a User Development Fee which I can only describe as excessive.

Currently air passengers in India pay a Passenger Service Fee (PSF) of Rs. 200 + 12.24% Service Tax, for a total of Rs. 225. Out of this 200, Rs. 130 goes to the Central Industrial Security Force and Rs. 70 to the airport operator.

BIAL wants to charge departing passengers both UDF and PSF - totalling, Rs. 983 for domestic and Rs. 1,298 for international, a 437% and 577% increase respectively. In year 1 alone the fees add up to Rs. 524 Crore, and rise to Rs. 856 Crore by year 5. i.e. in these 5 years, the passengers from Bangaore, will pay to BIAL an amount greater than their investment in the airport till date. The justification for these high charges is "a state of the art world class airport".

These prices make BIAL one of the most, if not the most, expensive airport in the world. Add to this the cost to get to the airport at approximately Rs. 800 or higher, depending on your mode of transport. Therefore a passenger will have to spend total of about Rs. 1,800. The airfare to most regional destinations from Bangalore are around Rs. 1,800 - Rs. 2,500.

BIAL is pricing itself out of the reach of the very public it is meant to serve and by extension its main customers -- the airlines.

The high charges proposed at the new GHIAL airport at Hyderabad has already led to a revolt by airlines, who are refusing to operate at the new airport, thus leading to a delay in launch, minutes after being inaugurated.

In Bangalore, low cost airlines are experiencing a 35% drop in their short-haul bookings, and have indicated that they will cut back their operations to Bangalore and deploy their aircraft to other airports.

What is the point of having an exclusive "5-star cost" airport which drives away both the passenger and the airline thus hurting the public interest instead of serving it ?

Does it not make sense to keep a low featured low cost airport like HAL in operation ? After all, as statistics show, there is plenty of demand to make both airports viable.

Sunday March 16 2008 00:42 IST
http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayitems.asp?id=SEC20080315151623&eTitle=Columns&rLink=0
TJS GEORGE

A FRIGHTENING fact about the Bangalore International Airport is now out in the open - that it was going to start regular flights without crucial air traffic control arrangements at the ready. ATC experts had told a newspaper that operations before specialist personnel and calibrated equipment were fully trained and tested would be “imprudent and irresponsible”. The airport company seemed to ignore the warning. Eventually the Civil Aviation Ministry had to virtually order a postponement before the “disappointed” company agreed.

What we see here is a problem of Attitude. Here is a company with a leadership that is obsessed with “recovering the heavy investment” in the airport. To achieve that end, it does not mind paying inadequate attention to safety concerns; it does not mind charging the world’s highest User Fee; it does not mind forcing arriving passengers to hire ‘luxury’ taxis that may cost as much as a thousand rupees for a ride to Electronic City; in the process, it does not mind antagonising Karnataka Tourism and Karnataka taxi owners who have been handling airport traffic well enough these many years.

The big long-term issue is the User Fee. Here too Attitude is the problem. Hyderabad heeded the Government of India’s proposal and abolished the User Fee for domestic passengers. Bangalore said its case was different. (Because its Attitude is different). So a passenger from Bangalore to Chennai will have to pay a User Fee of about Rs 1000 (including tax). Compare this with the highest domestic User Fee in Asia - the Sukarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta which charges the equivalent of 443 Indian rupees. Bangalore’s User Fee should, in tribute to its CEO, be called Brunner’s Ransom.

However, the citizen does have some recourse. Travellers who have spare time (example, holiday makers) have started planning their international departures from Chennai and Kochi. This offers a ready-made business opportunity to an enterprising bus operator in Chennai (and Kochi). An airconditioned coach service from Madras Central Station to the Airport timed to suit international departures is something that will do very well now.

Passengers had already begun shunning Bangalore for short-haul flights, forcing several airlines to plan cuts in their short-haul schedules. If Mysore airport is operationalised, these airlines can turn it into a kind of short-haul hub. Road-rail connectivity to Mysore is already excellent. The runway is apparently finished and terminal building work is well under way.

Best of all, though, how about a new, small, private airport for Karnataka? It will only need someone with, say, 300-400 acres of land. A runway that can handle ATRs will be perfect to cover all centres South of the Vindhyas.

If it can take 737s, it will be right for all of India too. Any location between Kengeri and Bangarpet will guarantee success because it will be ideal for day trippers from Electronic City.

Bangalore has outstanding brand ambassadors who can make this dream project a reality – Captain Gopinath, a proven pioneer; Vijay Mallya, the man with the Midas touch; Rajiv Chandrasekhar, known for his commitment to infrastructure.

It’s an idea whose time has come - the Kengeri Domestic Airport.

Both the Governments (of India and of Karnataka) face a dilemma -- while they realise that there is sound logic, to keeping HAL airport open along with the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), they face a intransigent BIAL consortium, who appears hell bent on enforcing the terms of their Concession Agreement.

We should also try and understand BIAL's perspective. They have done their part; so why should they re-negotiate their contract ?

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament from Karnataka and President of FICCI, summed it up well in this news story in Business Standard. “Commercial contracts and investments made in good faith in our state must not be put at risk. At the same time, it is the government’s obligation and responsibility to ensure public interest is best served. Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) and its shareholders must as well be reasonable towards a solution - that as long as their investments make reasonable returns, they shouldn’t push to maintain a monopoly”

Thanks to the economic boom in India, the liberalisation of the aviation, and the efforts of the low cost carriers, who incidentally lead the global surge in aviation growth, Bangalore air traffic has exploded; to a growth level just not anticipated, let alone planned for.

In the 33 month period that BIA was being constructed, traffic has grown 255% from 4.1 million passengers per annum (MPPA) to almost 10.8 MPPA. With all due respect to the capabilities of the BIAL consortium, I dare say, there is no infrastructure project in the world, that can plan for, let alone handle this level of growth.

BIAL has independently contracted Lufthansa Consulting (LHC) on two occasions to project air traffic. I am sure these figures are the very foundation on which the consortium planned the financial viability of the project. As per BIAL website these are the passenger figures

Bangalore has crossed, BIAL's "Optimistic" figures for the year 2010, 3 years ahead in 2007. This gap is only widening with each passing day. In November 2007, BIAL made projections to an committee of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which show that the actual air traffic in 2013 will cross 23.44 MPPA, the "optimistic" number for 2025 i.e. 12 years ahead of schedule. Many seasoned industry watchers believe, that the BIAL projections to IATA, continue to be excessively conservative, and that with both BIAL and HAL operating together, Bangalore air traffic will cross the 23.44 MPPA mark by late 2012 itself.

Industry leaders have made a proposal to keep HAL airport open along with BIAL. Even with diversion of 4 MPPA to HAL, BIAL will handle 135% of its "optimisic" projections in 2010, growing to a whopping 210% by 2015. There is further benefit in this proposal to BIAL. We all know that the limiting factor at BIAL is not the terminal, and most definitely not capabilities, IT IS THE RUNWAY. Since AAI is a partner at BIA, the airport is abiding by AAI policy to boost regional traffic by not charging landing fees to ATR and similar turbo-prop aircraft. Any aircraft large or small, will occupy the same 2 minutes of time on the runway. By allowing HAL to function, BIA can divert this "less profitable" short-haul traffic to HAL and focus on the more profitable long haul and larger jet aircraft.


A commercial venture has to operate in harmony with the community it serves. The past episode of Enron, taught us, that a commercial agreement which impedes rather than promotes its original purpose of serving the public interest, will cause the opposition and resentment from the very public it was meant to serve. The promoters of BIAL should listen to the voices of reason echoing in chorus, and take this proposal positively to re-negotiate their Concession Agreement.

After all they will continue to get their bonanza of profits, but with the added bonus of public satisfaction and harmony.

HAL airport has shown us that terminal capacity is far more flexible than runway capacity. After all, we Bangaloreans, who use the terminal, are temperate accommodating people, and as frugal Indians, it is in our nature to always try and extract the maximum from any precious resource, especially infrastructure. Runway capacity on the other hand, is dictated by the hard, cold, and unbending rules of international aviation safety.

As per IATA (International Air Transport Association) recommendations, a single runway can serve a maximum of about 550 air traffic movements (ATMs) per day or 200,000 ATMs per year. An ATM is defined as either a landing or a take-off.

Statistics of Mumbai airport for the calendar year 2007 corroborate the above. The main runway (27-09) handled approximately 550 ATMs per day and the subsidiary runway (14-32) handled 170 ATMs per day (mainly departures) for a total of 720 ATMs per day. The main runway has reached saturation at 550 ATMs. It is also important to appreciate that an airport handles both passenger and cargo traffic. Mumbai’s Air Traffic Control is staffed by the best and most experienced ATC controllers of AAI. By contrast, BIA will be staffed by comparatively less experienced controllers. Also, Mumbai, is the premiere international airport in India, has a significantly higher percentage of international ATMs when compared to Bangalore. International ATMs use much larger aircraft, when compared to domestic, and therefore the average passengers per flight increase i.e. more passengers with fewer ATMs. Despite these advantages, with 720 ATMs per day i.e. 262,800 ATMs per year, Mumbai, handled only 20 million passengers per annum.

Applying the Mumbai figures to Bangalore, at 200,000 ATMs per year, and even eliminating the high percentage of international traffic that Mumbai enjoys, and the efficiencies of its experienced ATC, the maximum capacity at BIA will be 15.22mn (200,000/262,800 x 20mn) per runway.

The website of the BIAL consortium will lead you to believe that the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) will be able to handle a capacity of 50 million passengers per annum (MPPA).

Sorry, but that is just not possible, at least not in Bangalore.

We have extremely diverse air traffic. We have and will continue to have a much higher proportion of domestic traffic than Mumbai. Boeing 747s and may be Kingfisher's Airbus A380 Super Jumbos will be mixing it up with the small regional "puddle jumper" ATRs of Deccan and Jet, and all the other aircraft in between.

If this logic and Mumbai, do not prove the point, one more small example -- there is only ONE airport in the world today, that serves more than 50 MPPA with two runways -- London Heathrow; consistently voted as the WORST major airport by air travelers, and they do this with FIVE terminals, not two as planned by BIAL.

So we know that BIA will have a capacity of about 15.22 MPPA. Given the tremendous growth rates of recent years, BIAL has projected to IATA, 15.6 MPPA by 2009-2010. The one runway will be saturated 18~24 months after opening. BIA says it will expand terminal capacity, and build a second runway.

BIAL is a world class company, and can build another terminal quickly, but a second runway will take at least 2 years. However, we do not even know, if a 2nd runway at BIAL will be permitted. The Indian Air Force has a major air base at Yelahanka, and has refused permission for the second runway.

Yelahanka air force base runway is only 4 nautical miles (nm) away (towards the south) from current runway of BIA i.e. horizontal separation. International safety regulations mandate a minimum 1 nm horizontal separation between two runways. BIA master plan shows plans for a second runway, 1nm south (towards Yelahanka). At this point of time, clearance and approvals for the second runway have not yet been accorded to BIA. IF the second runway at BIA is constructed it will be at most 3nm separation from Yelahanka runway. This proximity of Yelahanka air force base runway, will mandate precision flying by pilots using the two airports. Seasoned commercial pilots who will use BIA can be expected to maintain their position with reasonable precision, however, Yelahanka is a national level training academy for the Indian Air Force, and trainee pilots cannot be expected to be as precise.

BIA Air Traffic Control (ATC) has been allocated control of only 40% of the airspace over Bangalore. This imposes operational constrictions on BIAL.

Traffic considerations dictate arrival and departure procedures (refer to above map) that impose a penalty on maximum capacity realization from each runway. This restriction gets further compounded in a mixed environment of slow moving aircraft like ATR turbo-props combined with fast moving Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 jets.

Major chunks of airspace immediately around BIA are not under its control due to the existence of ‘local flying areas’ (LFAs) of Yelahanka and HAL airports, within which these airports carry out their respective flying tasks. Please also note the altitude control areas, keeping in mind the altitude of Bangalore is almost 3000 feet above main sea level (AMSL). The various Flight levels (FL) indicated on the map are taken with reference to MSL. If an FL is indicated in 3 digits, then another 00 is added for the actual altitude i.e. FL100 = 10,000ft AMSL or approximately 7000ft above ground level (AGL).

Indian DGCA safety norms dictate that all aircraft maintain a vertical separation of 1000 ft and a horizontal separation of 5nm (2 minutes) in an airport vicinity. Area C and D in the enclosed map, are directly to the east and west of BIA and in the runway path. In these areas, BIA ATC has jurisdiction only between 12,000ft (FL120) and 7,000ft (FL070) Above Main Sea Level (AMSL) i.e. only 5,000ft of airspace vertically. This places enormous constraints on BIA ATC and very little maneuvering room should any difficult situation arise.

A plain reading of the map shows how all aircraft departing from BIA will have to follow a straight path all the way till 7000ft i.e. more than 4000ft climb from the runway, before making a left or right turn towards a designated air corridor routes like W101, W56 S, W70, W47 S etc. Similarly, aircraft arriving in to BIA, especially from Southern side and Northwest of Bangalore, will have to come in at a high altitude, and cross the Yelahanka LFA, only then make a descent. Normally, jet aircraft climb at about 1500ft per minute, and turbo-props climb at 1000ft per minute. Therefore a climb of 4000ft will take a jet about 2min45secs, and turbo-prop about 4mins, against a desired 2mins for optimal ATC operations to achieve the 550 ATMs per day.

Currently at HAL, during peak hours aircraft climb to 5000ft (about 2000ft above runway) before making the turn.

As an aircraft flies, it generates a physical phenomena called “wake turbulence”. This is very similar to the turbulence seen at the back of a ship as it travels in water. Also, during take-off the engines are at maximum power, and any aircraft directly behind will experience severe turbulence. Therefore global aviation safety practices mandate, that, aircraft should not follow too closely behind. Since wake turbulence is aircraft specific, a minimum separation is maintained depending on the type of aircraft in the front as well as the aircraft behind i.e. if a Jumbo Jet is in the front, and a small ATR is at the back, the separation requirement will be very high at about 5 minutes when compared to 2 minutes for two similar sized aircraft like Boeing 737 or Airbus A320.

To ensure reduction of wake turbulence, ATC controllers turn aircraft away from the runway heading as soon as possible after take-off. At very congested airports in the United States and Western Europe, like Chicago O’Hare, Boston Logan, New York La Guardia, Frankfurt Main, it is common practice to turn an aircraft immediately after takeoff. This reduces the wake turbulence towards the runway, directly behind the aircraft, and enables another aircraft to use the runway more quickly.

This narrow corridor at BIA, will impose significant airspace constraints will result in heavy airspace congestion and consequent delays. Maximum capacity realization per runway at BIA will be significantly less than the maximum permitted 550 ATMs per day. Some experienced ATC controllers estimate it at 450~500 ATMs per day which translates to about 13.84 MPPA (Million Passengers Per Annum).

Quoting the Hindu Business Line of Feb 22, "BIAL would handle 440 peak season movements a day by August (2008)"

For all those who want an exclusive Bengaluru International Airport, this is just a thought to ponder.

Bangalore to beat passenger traffic forecast from day one
EXISTING BANGALORE, HYDERABAD AIRPORTS: TO BE OR NOT TO BE

BS Reporter / Bangalore March 6, 2008

'Growing demand can keep both new and existing airports fully occupied.'

The new Bangalore international airport, scheduled to start flight operations from March 30, will far exceed its passenger traffic forecast from the very first day.

Consequently, there is a growing demand to let the existing HAL airport remain operational even after the new one starts functioning. The government’s agreement with the promoters of the new airport provides for closure of the existing airport after the new one starts.

Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which will operate the new airport, has got the passenger traffic forecast wrong. BIAL’s forecast figure of 10.1 million users by 2010 has already been surpassed by HAL airport, which is handling 10.5 million passengers. The passenger traffic is expected to touch 10.8 million by the end of 2007-08.

BIAL commissioned Lufthansa Consulting (LHC) in 2005 to undertake a revised traffic study given the explosive traffic growth at Bangalore. LHC’s most optimistic estimates projected 10.1 million passengers by 2010. BIAL, more realistically, estimated that passenger traffic in Bangalore would reach 11.3 million in 2015.

“We will cross this mark a few days after the new airport opens, seven years ahead of expectation. The argument, therefore, is that given that every estimate of air traffic over the past several years has proved to be wrong by a significant margin, how can we ensure that BIAL can service the real demand in the city?” says Devesh Agarwal of Bangalore Chamber of Industries and Commerce (BCIC).

The BIAL projection shows a 12.45 per cent annual average growth between 2008 and 2013 in air passenger traffic. “Our projection of 26.26 per cent has become a reality now. BIAL is underestimating growth,” he said.

Agarwal said the existing HAL airport should continue operations. “It is hard to conceive shutting down a working piece of infrastructure like HAL airport and then discovering that demand outstrips supply. Little can be done at that time,” he added.

The IT sector, concentrated in the southern and western parts of Bangalore, has also been emphasising the need to keep HAL airport open considering the distance between Electronics City and Whitefield (in excess of 50 kilometres) and the new airport.

A public interest litigation filed in the high court seeking continuation of HAL airport is also coming up for hearing soon.

However, BIAL authorities said the airport was equipped to handle this additional traffic too. The airport will have 54 counters on the ground and first floors for checking in, booking baggage and collecting boarding passes within 15-30 minutes of takeoffs during non-peak and peak hours.

“Due to the delay in clearance for construction, we have combined the first two phases of capacity building in the terminal to handle 12 million passengers per annum as against the eight million in the first phase. Being modular, the terminal can be expanded over the next three-four years to handle 15 million passengers per annum from 2012,” BIAL CEO Alfred Brunner told the media recently.

With separate gates for arrival and departure, the new airport will operate 30 flights per hour during peak hours, which are normally in the morning for domestic flights and after midnight for international flights.

http://www.business-standard.com/general/printpage.php?autono=315987

While I was very much looking forward to the launch of the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), I think the Ministry of Civil Aviation took a very pragmatic and realistic step by delaying the launch.

I can understand the frustrations of the BIAL consortium, but let us face facts. The CNS-ATM system would not be erected and properly commissioned in time. In total, 59 deficiencies were observed.

The ATM (Air Traffic Management) system is the nerve centre of aeronautical operations at any airport. It has to function without any hitch, glitch, or failure. Part of this system includes air traffic controllers (ATCs), which is why all aviation and safety agencies from ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) to our DGCA, "recommend" (read demand) a 1000 hour (about 42 days) "hot standby" period after the system is installed and the first calibrations conducted. During this "hot standby" period, the system is repeatedly tested and a special aircraft loaded with instrumentation is used.

Despite the constraints at Bangalore HAL airport, it has grown from India's 5th largest airport in 2001, to the 3rd largest airport (yes, we passed Chennai late last year). Thanks to the economic boom, we have tremendous growth in Bangalore's aviation traffic, and the new airport has control on just about 40% of the total airspace of Bangalore. Managing air traffic in this restricted space, is a fine art, that needs experience as well as skill. Expecting brand new ATCs to just walk in and start directing traffic is playing Russian Roulette with the lives of not just those in the air, but also those on the ground.

Most Bangaloreans are unaware, the show case trial flights at BIAL, so prominently featured in the news just a week ago, were in fact, guided in to BIAL, by HAL airport's ATC.

For the airport to launch on March 30th, as originally planned, the BIAL consortium should have delivered the required building infrastructure and air-conditioning plant on time. Today's Deccan Herald has an interesting story with a detailed time line.

I quote from the story “The AAI has informed (the ministry) that… it was the responsibility of the BIAL to design and construct by no later than 180 days prior to the initial commissioning date (ICD-March 30) the ATC facility including control tower, technical block and office accommodation for AAI personnel. Air conditioning at ATC was to be provided 90 days prior to ICD. The BIAL should have handed over the facility by September 30, 2007 and provided AC by December 31. However, the crucial building — technical block — was handed over to the AAI only on February 3, 2008, radar building on December 12, 2007 and AC works completed on March 1.”

Just as a reminder, the AAI is a 13% shareholder in BIAL. Somehow, BIAL, very conveniently chooses to portray its own stake-holder as an external party and tries to transfer the blame, and we equally conveniently choose to accept this masterful stroke of PR!!!!

These extra 42 days provided by the delay, should be used by all the stakeholders productively

• BIAL to complete all its pending works, including the cargo village, police station, etc.
• Government of Karnataka, PWD, BDA, and BBMP to complete the connectivity.
• Government of India should sit BIAL and HAL down together and work out an mutually beneficial arrangement where citizens of Bangalore gain by having the infrastructure of two airports.
• We Bangaloreans, should drive to BIAL, not on a leisurely Sunday, but a busy weekday, and scope out all the roads and time taken to reach the new airport.
  

Let us stop wasting time with political conspiracy theories however salacious they appear.

Political cloud over take-off
14 Mar 2008, 0110 hrs IST,
Anil Kumar M & Anshul Dhamija, TNN

BANGALORE: There is a strong political hand overlooking the opening of Bengaluru International Airport (BIA). The Centre, on Thursday, officially communicated to Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) that it should consider an opening date after May 10 - which coincides with the planned state elections.

State Congress leaders are believed to have pressurised the Centre to postpone the opening date. By way of a response to the Centre, the BIAL issued a press release on Thursday, proposing May 11 as the opening date.

Karnataka Congress leaders met the prime minister a couple of days back, urging that HAL airport be retained for a few months till connectivity problems with respect to BIA are resolved. Meanwhile, the party high command is personally overseeing developments and is in touch with the civil aviation minister.

If connectivity issues are resolved soon, Congress expects to use it as a political weapon against JD (S) and BJP. Congress would like to argue that their joint government merely proceeded on setting up BIA without doing anything about how to reach it.

Delimitation is also weighing on the minds of the state party leadership. Bangalore urban district will have 28 assembly constituencies as a result of this exercise, against 16 at present. A botched opening can backfire for the party, just as a successful exercise can enable it to score over its rivals.

The fact that BIA, unlike its counterpart in Hyderabad, will charge user fees from domestic passengers from Day One does not inspire political confidence.

A blame game is also being played out at the Centre, between Congress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA. Congress is blaming NDA for inking deals for the new airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad with private parties. "In future we will not enter into deals where we have to close down old infrastructure," a source close to the civil aviation minister said.

Meanwhile, the ostensible reasons being offered for a delayed opening are quite different. Stating that facilities within the ATC tower are not complete, the Centre has dashed off a letter directing BIAL to "consider a suitable date after May 10 for the airport opening". The earlier inauguration date for BIA was March 30.

"As ATC services will not be available by March 30, the date has to be put off," the letter said.

The civil aviation ministry, which only the other day said the airport opening would be put off by four weeks or the last week of April, seemed to change tack. It pointed out that construction of ATC facilities - control tower, technical block, office accommodation of AAI personnel and issues like electricity supply, house-keeping, air-conditioning - prompted it to
ask the BIAL to fix a date after May 10.

BIAL made its frustration with the ministry's actions amply clear: "We are clearly disappointed with this delay, especially as our employees and all our partners have been working tirelessly to launch BIA on schedule on March 30. This delay is beyond the control of BIAL. To mark the successful readiness of airport infrastructure, BIAL will hold an event to showcase the new airport on March 28."

While all central government agencies responsible for the performance of key functions at the airport had confirmed their readiness for March 30, Airports Authority of India expressed reservations about ATC being ready by that date.

HAL, BIAL wage war over airport
Anshul Dhamija | TNN
March 04, 2008

Bangalore: Should HAL airport be closed? That simple question evoked a major war of words on Tuesday between representatives of HAL, Bangalore International Airport Ltd and industry leaders at a seminar organized by the Centre for Public Policy of the IIM-B. And the battle lasted for almost three hours.
BIAL CEO Albert Brunner was outraged at the idea of allowing HAL airport to continue operations after the airport opens on March 28. His contention: “You cannot make a contract and thereafter debate it.” He said four Union ministries, the state government and the BIAL consortium had signed the contract. “India’s credibility will be at stake. How will you get shareholders to invest in the future?’’ he asked.
HAL: No, HAL airport should not be closed. A minimal usage can happen without hurting BIAL.
BIAL: Bangalore will need a second airport only when passenger traffic crosses 40 million, which will happen in 15 years. Then too, HAL cannot be the second airport.
Industry: Let HAL handle 30% of passenger traffic for five years, after which both airports can compete with each other.
HAL and the industry questioned whether BIAL could handle the city’s air traffic growth. Since 2003, the city has been witnessing a 33% compound annual growth rate, with traffic doubling every three years. “BIAL is underestimating the demand,’’ said Devesh R Agarwal, CEO, Infomart, a member of the Bangalore Chamber of Industry & Commerce.
“How will BIAL handle 480 movements a day when it controls only 40% of the airspace towards the north and north-east region, with the Yelahanka ATC controlling the western region and HAL controlling the whole of the southern region?’’ asked S R Iyer, DGM, Aerodrome Operations, HAL.
BIAL is expected to handle 480 movements a day for the summer season which could go well over 550 movements come the winter season.
According to Iyer, the Mumbai airport, which controls the entire airspace over the city and handles close to 600 movements a day, often has over 20 aircraft waiting in queue. “The aircraft in queue at Nos. 12 and 13 have to hover around for 45 minutes before getting landing clearance,’’ added Iyer.
But Brunner shot back: “BIAL has more parking bays than HAL and that would ensure no flight delays. BIAL is planning talks with the defence ministry in order to have a single ATC that will control the airspace for both BIAL and the Yelahanka airbases.”
Pay more as user fee
Passengers travelling from the new airport will have to fork out more airport fee than thought earlier. They will have to pay Rs 983 on domestic travel (earlier user development fee Rs 675) and Rs 1,298 on international travel (earlier user fee Rs 955). This is because the new fee includes other taxes and air charges that airlines levy. The breakup: a passenger service fee of Rs 225 that is charged at all airports across the country plus user fee of Rs 675 (on domestic flights) and 12.24% service tax. Similarly, Rs 955 (on international flights) plus passenger service fee of Rs 225 and 12.24% service tax.
“The civil aviation ministry has asked us to revise UDF; a decision is expected by week-end,” said Brunner. As announced earlier, BIAL, beginning March 30, will charge an introductory UDF for two months of Rs 240 plus taxes for domestic travel and Rs 520 plus taxes for international travel.
NO PLANE SAILING
Flights may have to circle for 45 mins before landing as BIAL controls only 40% of the city airspace
HAL to lose Rs 600 crore in revenue annually, once airport shuts down
If BIAL reduces UDF, it will increase landing and parking charges by 20%