Transport and Parking at Bengaluru International Airport

December 2008 update.

For updated and detailed BMTC Vayu Vajra Volvo airport bus and taxi information, click on the BIA Bus & taxi link on the top menu.

For real time flight arrivals and flight departures information use the respective links on the top menu bar or the Real time Flightstats widget at the bottom of the "Recommended Articles" section on the right column.

The travel time to BIA has been reduced to about 1~1.5 hours from city centre, depending on traffic. The main bottlenecks are till Yelahanka junction, after which it is about 20 minutes to the airport.



Comments and feedback on the Bangalore Aviation site and your airport experience are welcome, as usual.
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The much awaited, BIAL promoted, Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) will open on the night of 22-May / early morning of 23-May.

Time taken to reach the airport.
I drove to BIA today, and from Koramangala to M.G. Road, via Raj Bhavan to Mekhri Circle to BIA took a total of 1:45. This was a 2:00pm reaching BIA at 3:45. 30 minutes from Koramangala to M.G. Road, and another 1:15 from there to BIA. Bulk of this time was spent getting to Hebbal flyover. The roads and "magic boxes" are still under construction. This is not during peak hour, but it was through the centre of town. I will advise travellers to budget about 1.5 to 2.0 hours to get to the airport depending on where you are originating.

I am detailing the parking and transport facilities at the new airport.

Parking Facilities
The Bengaluru International Airport’s car park can accommodate 2000 cars. The system used for the parking management is fully automated, efficient and transparent and is provided by SKIDATA™, a leading global provider of car park systems at airports. Central Parking Solutions, India’s largest car park operator, will manage parking at the new airport.

The passengers and visitors using the parking facility at the new airport will find it cheaper and more flexible when compared to the existing airport. A 10 minute free drop off facility has been created in front of the terminal building to facilitate the passengers. For parking, various zones have been created, these include long term parking, short term parking & two wheelers, general parking and taxis.

Car parking fees have been priced at Rs.40/- for two hours and Rs.20/- for every additional hour in the general parking area. For overnight parking, Rs. 300 will be charged for the first 24 hours and Rs. 200 for every additional day. An airport parking map has been developed to help passengers use the facilities depending on their requirement.

BIAL will also provide valet parking, a dedicated zone for tour operator buses and premium pick up areas. Travellers can be assured that parking, getting picked up or dropped off at the new airport will be convenient and well organised.

A map is below for further information on the parking layout, porter service, valet service and airport taxi service.

In addition to this, BIAL has a staff parking lot that can accommodate 700 cars.

Parking Map (Click for larger image). Source BIAL Parking Fees (Click for larger image). December 2008 update : BIAL has not yet implemented a shuttle bus. BMTC runs a shuttle bus from the trumpet interchange to the main bus stop in the passenger terminal building parking area.

Facilities for differently abled passengers at the parking lot
At the new airport, careful thought has gone into planning of facilities to ensure convenience of differently-abled passengers as well. Vehicles with differently-abled passengers have access to the valet lane which is the closest access point to the terminal building on the curb side. Each parking zone has upto twelve parking spaces reserved for differently abled passengers. In addition, the walkways from the parking area to the passenger terminal building have gently sloping ramps throughout and are wide enough to accommodate a large electric powered wheelchair. The public convenience buildings located in the car park area have toilets designed for differently abled passengers and visitors to the airport.

Airport Bus - BMTC's Vayu Vajra and Suvarna
BMTC has procured 40 air-conditioned Volvo buses for dedicated Shuttle Services between the Airport and seven destinations across the City. Named Vayu Vajra, these buses will ply on nine routes, every 15 minutes. The cost of the bus fare would range from Rs. 80 to Rs. 200 depending on the distance. In addition, BMTC has also procured 116 Ashok Leyland Non AC buses to connect the airport to the City. Named Suvarna, these buses will ply during peak hours of the morning and evening. The cost for each trip in these buses will range between Rs.20 to Rs.90 per trip, depending on the distance travelled.

A map detailing the routes of these buses is attached for your reference.

Vayu Vajra Route Map, Frequency and Fare. (Click for larger image). Source BIAL

Vayu Vajra Fees and Routes. (Click for larger image)

Jeevan Bima Nagar:
Five buses. Indiranagar, Halasoor, M G Road (Taj Residency, Hotel Oberoi), Indian Express, J C Nagar, Mekhri Circle, Hebbal and Yelahanka

HAL Airport:
Five buses. HAL, Suranjandas Road, Indiranagar, Old Madras Road, MEG Centre, Coles Park, St John’s Road, J C Nagar, Mekhri Circle, Hebbal and Yelahanka

Koramangala:
Five buses. Diary Circle, Shanthi Nagar Bus Station, Richmond Circle (Hotel Chancery Pavillion, Ramanashree, Woodlands, Bowring Club, Bangalore Club), J C Nagar, R T Nagar, CBI Office, Hebbal and Yelahanka

MCTC on Mysore Road:
Five buses. Vijayanagar, Rajajinagar 1st Block, Yeshwantpur Bus Station, Malleshwaram Bus Station, Sadashivanagar Circle, Hebbal and Yelahanka

J P Nagar 6th Phase:
Five buses. Jayanagar 4th Block, Lalbagh, Corporation, Cauvery Bhavan, Vidhana Soudha, High Grounds (Le Meridian, Windsor Manor Sheraton, Hotel Grand Ashoka), Guttahalli, Mekhri Circle, Hebbal and Yelahanka

Electronic City:
Seven buses. Bommanahalli, Silk Board, Agara, Maratahali, K R Puram Railway Station, Hebbal, Yelahanka (Outer Ring Road)

Whitefield:
Five buses. ITPL, Mahadevapura, K R Pura Railway Station, B Channasandra, Kalyan Nagar, Hebbal and Yelahanka

Taxi and Limousine service:
The taxi services to and from the airport have been designed to suit everyone’s requirements and budget.

Post-paid taxi facilities
BIAL is committed to providing reliable, affordable and safe taxi facilities at the airport. BIAL has selected (by open tender) MERU & EASYCAB to provide basic taxi services. The taxi operators will have basic AC cars, all equipped with tracking devices to ensure safety and transparency. Both operators have professional call centres. Hence, passengers coming to the airport can call the cab call centres and a cab will pick them up and drop them at the airport. For passengers arriving at the airport, there is a dedicated taxi holding area where the passenger can get a cab. The post paid taxi facility will be available on meter charges @ Rs.15/- per km (subject to Govt regulation).

Pre-paid Limousine and Car Rental facilities
Hertz and Akbar Travels will provide pre paid Limousine and car rental facilities. Hertz will launch a fleet of Mercedes - C & E class cars and will expand the fleet depending on the demand and business objectives. Limousine services will be available at the limo service counters at the terminal building arrival and based on special tariffs applicable for BIAL.

Self Drive
Cars will also be available on self drive basis. There will be three ranges of self drive cars- the compact category (Suzuki Swift), the intermediate range – (Ford Fiesta), the standard category- (Toyota corolla), Multi Utility Vehicles (Toyota Innova) and Sports Utility Vehicles (Ford Endeavour). These cars will be given to the passenger with a full fuel tank and the car has to be returned with full fuel tank. A flexible pick up and drop off facility in town and at the airport will be offered. To elaborate, the passenger can pick up the car at the airport and then drop it off anywhere in the city or in Hyderabad or Chennai. Similarly, he can pick up the car at any of these cities and drop it off at the airport. The conditions are that the customer has to be over 21 yrs of age and possess a valid Indian license.

For those who are driving and may be unfamiliar with the airport, please use Landmarks map below.

Landmarks Map (Click for larger image). Source BIAL
Easy Guide
The friendly folks over at BIAL have put together this handy Easy Guide which summarises much of the information below. Click on the picture for a larger image.


Many thanks to the Communications team at BIAL for their quick help and cooperation, and Praja.in for their inputs.