I had to take a day trip to Mumbai on Saturday 24th May and was quite excited
about the new airport experience. Friday 4.30 pm - called Meru and Easy cab -
both said all cabs to airport already booked - Ended up calling good old City
Taxi - Rs 15/km. journey took 50 min(at 6.30am) from Banaswadi road to BIAL and
cost Rs. 700/- First impression after getting off the cab was good. I could see
ample parking with the Volvo terminal in the distance. The queue to enter the
terminal gave a sense of deja vu - HAL airport all over again. About 50 people
in the queue and two such queues. Security guard sitting outside in a tattered
chair probably an HAL relic.
CISF manning security of all airports is a given -
why has this been ignored at the design stage? Check-in was a breeze. Took the
escalator to reach security check. The check took lesser time than HAL but was
just about adequate - dread to think what will happen after a year or two. After
clearing this there is a Crossword on the left followed by a refreshment area
which houses three establishment - a barista and two others(can’t remember the
names). All the three were packed! To the right there is a smaller travel
focussed shopper’s stop. After walking down you reach the boarding gates with
individual waiting areas - 5 to the left and 5 to the right. There is one toilet
block for each side and the men’s room on the right was locked and not
functional.
The one on the left was hence over crowded and stinking - floor was
wet and dirty and there was no housekeeping staff around. The waiting area was
as crowded as HAL and had a tough time finding a seat. Boarded the flight on
time and in a smooth fashion. Flight time was 8.55am and the aircraft doors
closed exactly at this time and then - nothing - the push back happened at 9.30.
The captain cited ATC delays. Return: Landed at 7.45pm. Aircraft waited on
taxiway for 10 mins as no parking bays were available(same old HAL!) finally
got a bay - ladder type disembarkation - no aero bridge available! took a bus to
the terminal and had a long walk out towards baggage claim area. The belts are
the flat type and not the inclined ones as is the trend with newer airports.
The
length of the conveyor belt is so small that people were crowding to get a peek
- exactly the same as HAL. After walking out - I discovered that there is a
waiting for 30 min for Meru/Easycab. The Airport Taxi Union(same guys as HAL
with Indica’s and Omni’s) have no office yet and are standing like touts.
Decided to take the Volvo - The terminal is badly lit with only one signage that
was not very clear - passengers were moving about asking the drivers for route
details and fending for themselves. Managed to find my bus and ride back was
comfortable. There is so much pending work yet with respect to signage and
external amenities. None of the airline lounges are functional. I can’t imagine
what the state of the airport was on its scheduled date of opening in April. I
can’t help but compare to the new HYD airport which I experienced last month -
It was so spacious and smooth that BIAL feels woefully inadequate in comparison.