Kempegowda International Airport
| Kempegowda International Airport ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡ ಅಂತರರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ |
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| IATA: BLR – ICAO: VOBL | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Bengaluru International Airport Limited | ||||||||||
| Serves | Bangalore | ||||||||||
| Location | Devanahalli, Karnataka, India | ||||||||||
| Opened | 24 May 2008 | ||||||||||
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| Elevation AMSL | 915 m / 3,002 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | ||||||||||
| Website | www.bengaluruairport.com | ||||||||||
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19.7%)Kempegowda International Airport (IATA: BLR, ICAO: VOBL) is an international airport serving the city of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is located at Devanahalli about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Bangalore City Railway Station[4] and covers 1,900 hectares (4,700 acres).[5] The airport opened in May 2008 as Bengaluru International Airport, replacing HAL Airport as the city's main commercial airport. It was renamed in 2013 after Kempe Gowda I, the founder of Bangalore.
In 2014-15 Kempegowda Airport was ranked third busiest airport by passenger traffic in the country, behind the airports of Delhi and Mumbai. It handled about 15.24 million passengers and 400 air traffic movements (ATM) per day.[6]
The airport serves as the primary hub for AirAsia India and Air Pegasus, and as a secondary hub for Jet Airways. It also serves as focus city for Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet. Prior to their demise, Air Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines were also based at the airport.
Contents
History
The airport project started as a public-private joint venture between Switzerland's Zurich Airport, Germany's Siemens Project Ventures GmbH, Government of Karnataka and Airports Authority of India (AAI).[7] Construction began in July 2005, after a decade long postponement. The new airport was originally planned to accommodate 6.5 million passengers a year, but this was later redesigned to handle 12 million passengers per year. The redesign resulted in an increase in the size of the terminal, number of aircraft stands, new taxiway layouts and supporting infrastructure. The airport was to be inaugurated on 30 March 2008, but due to delays in air traffic control (ATC) services, it was finally inaugurated on 24 May 2008. A Jet Airways flight from Mumbai marked the start of commercial operations. Later, an Air India flight to Singapore became the first commercial flight to take-off from the airport. The erstwhile HAL airport located in downtown Bangalore was closed to commercial aviation.
Renaming
On 27 February 2009, the Government of Karnataka forwarded the proposal to the central government to rename the airport after the city's founder, Kempe Gowda I. In 2011, the state government sent another proposal to the central government to name the airport after Kempegowda.[8] In 2012, the central government accepted the state government's proposal to name the airport after Kempegowda.[9] On 18 July 2013, the Union Cabinet formally approved the name change.[10] Finally, the airport was officially renamed on 14 December 2013. Along with the renaming, new terminal 1A was inaugurated on the same occasion.[11]
Expansion
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 Terminal 1 expansion video |
Kempegowda Airport is being expanded in two phases. Phase 1 was completed in December 2013 at a cost of Rs. 1,500 crore.[12] The passenger terminal was expanded to a size of 150,556 metres, with check-in, immigration, security, and baggage reclaim facilities all expanded.[13] In addition, Terminal 1A was constructed as an extension to the original terminal. This terminal added 3 international gates, one of which is capable of handling the Airbus A380, the largest passenger jet in the world.[14] Overall, Phase 1 has raised Kempegowda Airport's passenger capacity to 20 million per year.[15]
Phase 2 includes the construction of a second runway and a second terminal. It will render Kempegowda Airport capable of handling the 55 million passengers expected to pass through the airport per year by 2029-30. It will also allow the airport to handle up to 1 million tonnes of cargo, a significant increase over the existing capacity of 350,000 tonnes.[16] The phase received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests in September 2014[17] and is expected to be completed by 2020.[6]
Ownership
Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) is a Public limited company under the Companies Act formed to build, own and operate the airport. BIAL has been given rights by the Government of India to develop, design, finance, operate and manage the airport for 30 years from the date of commencement of commercial flight operations. It has an option to extend the same for an additional 30 years. Private promoters GVK (43%), Siemens Project Ventures GmbH (26%) and Zurich Airport (5%) hold 74% stake in BIAL while government entities Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (13%) and Airport Authority of India (13%) hold the remaining 26% stake in the airport.[18][19] Further, a 26% of GVK-KIA's equity is owned by AAI and KSIIDC and 74% by private promoters of which GVK acquired 43% in January 2012.[20][21]
Runway
Kempegowda International Airport has one runway, 09/27, 4,000 m × 60 m (13,120 ft × 200 ft), that can accommodate all types of aircraft. The construction of second runway is in progress and expected to be operational by 2020 along with new terminal building.[6]
Repair work
In January 2012, BIAL announced that the airport will remain closed to all flight operations from 11 March 2012 to 3 April 2012 between 10:30 and 17:30 IST (05:00 to 12:00 UTC) during which the top layer of its only runway will be completely replaced. Following this initial phase, the runway was partly closed during phases 2 and 3 until 1 May.[22][23]
Terminals
Terminal 1
The passenger terminal is a single, fully air conditioned, four-level building accommodating international and domestic operations. The basement houses storage area and rest areas. The check-in counters and baggage reclaim belts are located on level 1. The arrival and departure areas are separated vertically with a simple straight-ahead flow system. The domestic and international departure lounges and retail outlets are on level 2.
The total floor area is approximately 170,000 m2 (1,800,000 sq ft); the terminal building is designed to accommodate 5,400 passengers at peak hour. The airport has been constructed to the standards set by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).[5] The airport can handle 20 million people per annum with 35 aircraft movements per hour and has an estimated 576 movements per day. There are 90 Common-Use-Terminal-Equipment (CUTE) enabled check-in counters and 25 self check-in counters. The airport has 38 gates, 20 aero-bridges including three double-armed ones, 45 aircraft parking bays with fueling pits and 18 remote bus bays. The car park can handle 2,000 vehicles.
The terminal also contains several retail outlets and lounges. Lounges include the VIP Lounge, inaugurated on 21 January 2011, and the Plaza Premium Lounge.[24][25]
Terminal 1A
Terminal 1A is an extension of Terminal 1, projecting from the east side of the terminal. It consists of 3 gates capable of handling widebody aircraft. The easternmost gate is considered Code F, meaning it is equipped to serve the world's largest passenger jet, the Airbus A380.[14]
Hajj terminal
The airport has an exclusive terminal for Hajj pilgrims operating during the Hajj pilgrimage season. This terminal can handle up to 600 passengers at a time and has specially designated prayer rooms and hot water facilities for Wadu.
Other facilities
Aviation fuel services
The airport has a fuel farm and hydrant system: a 36-kilometre (22 mi) fuel pipeline was commissioned in October 2009 by Indian Oil from Devanagonthi to the airport to reduce the need to transport jet fuel to the airport.[24]
Cargo village
The cargo village was inaugurated on 9 December 2009. It houses 120 freight forwarders and 80 custom house agents and can accommodate parking of nearly 80 trucks. There are two cargo terminals in the village. One is operated by Menzies Aviation Bobba Pvt Ltd. This terminal has an initial capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes (170,000 short tons) of cargo. The other terminal is operated by Air India SATS Joint Venture consortium. This terminal has a two-floor warehouse with a capacity of 200,000 t (220,000 short tons).
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Connectivity
Road
The airport is served by metered taxis and car rental services.[26] Auto rickshaws are not allowed beyond the trumpet interchange leading to the airport, but passengers can get dropped off at the trumpet interchange and then use an airport shuttle bus from the interchange.[27]
Bus services provided by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) connect the airport to major parts of the city. These services known as Vayu Vajra are operated using a fleet of Volvo B7RLE buses.[27][28] The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) runs a non stop service from the airport to Mysore and Kundapur Via Manipal named FlyBus.[29]
Proposed high-speed rail link
As the airport is 30 km (19 mi) from the city railway station, a new high-speed rail link has been proposed to connect it to the city.[30] The high-speed rail link would be integrated with the Bangalore Metro and would cover a distance of 33 km (21 mi) from Cubbon Road to the airport with intermediate stations at Hebbal and Yelahanka.[31] The project is expected to cost ₹69 billion (US$1.0 billion) of which the State Government would contribute ₹53.2 billion (US$790 million) and the Central Government would contribute the remaining ₹10.4 billion (US$150 million).[32]
Awards and honours
- Even though there was an economic slowdown, BIA managed to keep its traffic base and route network stable. It was hence awarded "The Routes Asia Airport Marketing Award" chosen among five others in the Indian subcontinent.[33]
- At the Emerging Markets Airports Awards 2010, held in Dubai, BIA was awarded "The Best Emerging Airport in Indian sub-continent."[34][35]
- It received a platinum certification from IATA in January 2010 for becoming "The first airport in India to be 100% Bar Coded Boarding Passes (BCBP) compliant.
- At the CNBC AWAAZ Travel Awards 2010 held at Delhi, BIA was awarded "The Best Managed Airport in India."[36]
References
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- ↑ Chandrashekar G. (15 December 2013). New terminal inaugurated at airport. Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ↑ BIA Terminal 1 Expansion Capacity, Design And Construction Update 2012-05-07. Bengaluruairport.com. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 KIA all set to welcome A380. The Hindu. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ↑ Acharjee, Sonali (16 December 2013). Bangalore unveils its new international airport terminal. Indiatoday.in. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ↑ Bangalore airport gets 'green nod' for expansion. Business Standard. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
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External links
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