The opening of new Bangalore airport(BIAL) is less than a month away and the severely myopic government is stillonly debatingwhether to allow two airports or shut the existing airport at HAL. No one seemsto care that in a sane society, months of planning is required to carry out thetransition smoothly. It is as if the airlines would be expected to move(ornot?) the equipment and personnel over a distance of 40KM, with maybe a day’snotice! Worse, there is no discussion on providing basic ancillaries likeregulated(well-publicized, fixed tariff) taxi services to and from theairport, correct road-signage, transit/food facilities outside the airport andPark and Fly facilities to avoid extortionate taxi-cartels from holdingarriving passengers at ransom.
Despite being a resident of the city, I am petrifiedof landing late night or during an emergency(delayed flights, floods, strikes- all too common in Bangalore)in the middle of nowhere that is BIA. I can barely imagine the plight of avisitor who comes with little or no knowledge of Bangalore.
As of today, the road connecting the airport to the city-centre hasintersections every 10 meters. There is no alternative road. BIAL is about 45KMfrom the southern IT Corridor. At average speed of 15 KM per hour that onemanages in Bangalore, passengers would have to budget 3 hours travel-time plus 3 hours check-in time, if all goes well. The rail link and expressway are both at least 3-4 yearsaway. Construction has not even begun on either!
Despite this mockery of travel, BIAL insists that the HAL airport must beclosed. Too bad if passengers are inconvenienced and too bad if those whosurvive are too exhausted from the ordeal. There is some lopsided contract thatstates no airport would operate within 150 KM of BIA, even if all BIAL did wasconstruct a cow-shed. A contract is a contract, they say.
Indian intelligentsia defends BIAL, worrying that if a government reneges onthe contract, it would send the wrong message to the International Investorcommunity. They say that investors would shy away from Indian infrastructureprojects.
My view is that by making the International Passenger community add six or more hours to a travel itineraryis not just sending out a wrong message but killingthe messenger from the strain! In a free-market economy, there is no place foranti-competition contracts when all demand factors are screaming for not twobut even a third airport at Mysore!
BIAL is in a position to be arrogant because they know that despite all thehooplah, passengers will have no option but to swallow the pill. Likeeverything else, they will get used to the long journey, the high taxi fare, the inconvenient schedules and the wasted productivity. Airlines will continueto expand and BIAL will continue to earn from both passengers(user-developmentfee) and airlines(monopolistic landing/parking fee). The government will notdo anything to hurt them because a) there is no government and b) the profitsare too sweet even if there was one. Besides, there is the holy contract.
An update in *April 2009, one year after the Airport opened
*The train and freeway connectivity to the airport remains a pipe-dream, with no land being acquired or project plans being made yet. However, the experience is not as bad as we anticipated. One reason was the unexpected recession that actually shrunk the number of airlines, passengers and traffic using the airport. This gave a much-needed breathing time to BIAL, although lack of more funding means they will end up expanding terminal and runway capacity only AFTER demand picks up again.
Some of the good things that have happened, sheerly by determination and not by planning:
The excellent Vayu Vajra bus service by BMTC provides great affordability, convenience and connectivity. Run every 30 minutes, it takes about 100-130 minutes to cover 50KM on weekdays and 60-70 minutes on weekends. Priced at Rs.150, it is much cheaper than Rs.750 taxi charge for the same distance. From the airport to the city, the buses are usually packed!
The magic boxes have made much of the route to BIAL signal free. They still have sudden, illogical speed bumps that threaten to cause more accidents when people need to brake after coming in at 80KMPH. Oddly enough, there were more deaths(mainly pedestrains) before the bumps came up, so it must not be such a bad idea.
Road widening is in progress. The drive time is 75-100 minutes on weekends and 150-180 minutes at peak time. Still enough to traumatize a foreign visitor, not enough to shake us into demanding better administration.
Facilities at the airport are expensive, some unncessarily so. Like having to buy water and pay for peeing. Not that the urinal is any cleaner. It is still an elitist airport despite significant low-income travelers. However, the facilities are good and convenient. Check in is faster due to inline baggage scan and customs/immig is also quick.
The airport is beautiful to look at. They have put up fountains, benches and gardens, all of which end up pleasing my young son everytime we visit. Signage is good enough for a new visitor to find their way around. ATM facility is helpful, as is the free Internet.
In conclusion, BIAL has managed to create a workable airport despite the government. Fast track development on the accessibility to the airport and development of good quality, lower priced food/stay options near the airport will give great stimulus to Bangalore’s economy. For that, the government needs to think beyond Ram and Rahim and do some REAL work.