The BIAL consortium, promoters of the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), have a strong plan to make their airport a major aviation hub, for domestic and international airlines. Its strongest competition is coming from the GMR promoted Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad. Unfortunately for BIAL, successive governments in Karnataka are addicted to oil, or at least the revenues …

On May 5, 2008, the Indian Government finally approved the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) Bill, and passed it to the Parliament of India. This bill has been languishing since its introduction on September 5, 2007, by the Civil Aviation Minister Shri Praful Patel. Till now, almost all airports in India were controlled and operated by the Airports Authority of …

From TravelBizMonitor.comBy Krupa Vora| Mumbai After the recent announcement of starting flights to Kozhikode by June 15, 2008, Qatar Airways is now eyeing Bangalore as their destination in India. The airline is currently evaluating the feasibility of the route (Doha-Bangalore) and will apply for passenger operations once the new Bangalore International Airport is operational. “While the User Development Fee (UDF) …

Over the last one month, I observe a whole slew of procedures, policies, and dictats, emerging from New Delhi, that is improving and facilitating the smooth operations at major airports all over India. Industry chambers had proposed most of these measures almost 5 years ago, to the Government. While the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was the airport operator, these …

Visa on Arrival on the anvil for 18 countries MoT working closely with MHA to permit Visa on Arrival By Kanika Mehta | New Delhi The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) is working at obtaining Visa on Arrival for 18 countries and is currently in deliberations with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the same. This is a first-time initiative …

Thanks to the repeated delays at the BIAL promoted Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), a crisis is brewing at HAL airport in Bangalore; a crisis which can turn ugly at any moment. Expecting the new airport to open on March 30th, most operators at HAL airport lost staff to the new operators at BIA. Ground and ramp handling (ladders/aero-bridges, baggage loading, …

The last few days have brought good news for the BIAL consortium, the promoters of the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA). Two weeks ago, the new Greenfield airports policy, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, Government of India, specifically protects the monopoly of both BIA and Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA). No new airport will be allowed to be …

Editorial: Flights of ad hocismBusiness Standard / New Delhi May 05, 2008 The ad hoc nature of government policy towards airports is no longer a joke, since it has played havoc with both passengers who have to traverse large distances, and those who have invested in new airports on the basis of contractual commitments. A similar ad hoc attitude seems …

According to the Financial Times, “The skies over Mumbai are set to face a congestion crisis early next decade with the Indian financial capital’s existing international airport likely to be overloaded with passengers even after a $2.3bn expansion is completed, according to the city airport’s top executive.” “GV Sanjay Reddy, managing director of Mumbai International Airport, told the Financial Times, …

Earlier this week, under directions of High Court of Karnataka, the Ministry of Civil Aviation held discussions with Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) consortium about the high User Development Fee (UDF), and on keeping the existing HAL airport open in parallel with the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA). On sites like Citizen Matters and Praja, many Bangaloreans are voicing concern …

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 …

The Civil Aviation ministry today has requested BIAL the promoters of the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) to delay the launch of the airport to end May. Most likely it will be May 29, 2008. I offer my sincerest sympathies to the entire team at BIAL and its concessionaires. They have put in hard work to bring the project to …

This is the first story I have been able to publish on two major interests of mine, Aviation and Philanthropy. Please read the full story on the Rotary International website. If you would like to know more about Rotary in Bangalore, visit Rotary Club of Bangalore website.

This is an on-site assessment of the terminal and other passenger facilities at the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA). It is quite well written, despite the title, which I do not fully agree with. Sniperz Blog: Bangalore Airport – Daylight Dacoity

Some readers of my blog have commented that my stand for keeping HAL airport in addition to Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) is not clearly articulated. So here goes. Thanks to the economic boom in India, the liberalisation of the aviation industry, and the efforts of the low cost carriers, who incidentally lead the global surge in aviation growth, Bangalore air …

Due to the contrarian views I put forth, readers of my blog may get the impression that I am Anti-BIAL. Nothing can be further from the truth. I am NOT against Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) at all. BIA is a required addition to Bangalore, and I have always admired the efforts put in by the whole team at the BIAL …

Bangalore’s commerce is finally going to get some relief, on the air cargo front. In the last few years, India, and Bangalore in particular, have arrived on the world stage. Air cargo has become an integral part of our daily lives. From cell Phones to car parts to computers, from garments to gold, from food to flowers, a wide variety …

Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), which will commence operations on May 11, 2008, is supposed to deliver us poor suffering Bangaloreans from the grind and capacity constraints we face at HAL airport. Given the growth of air traffic in Bangalore over the last few years, however, it will be WE, who will have to learn to fly at times suitable to …

The new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) will be opened on May 11, 2008. The Election Commission may not have permitted any festivities and gala celebrations, but then, we Bangaloreans, are more interested in the long overdue additional capacity of the new airport. Various government agencies are busy upgrading or creating roads, to improve access to the airport for the expected …

Yesterday, a division bench of the Karnataka High Court directed the Union and State governments, and the Airports Authority of India to “explore the possibility of minimising, if not completely removing, the inconveniences and difficulties of the people”, and to immediately consider renegotiating the closure of the HAL Airport and levy of User Development Fee (UDF) on passengers, with the …