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, would be that if current passenger trends continued, the city's airport would be overwhelmed. "The city is going to be in trouble," he said."
Bangalore needs to be apprehensive of the situation in Mumbai, as it is a precursor to what will happen in Bangalore.
As per BIAL's own data, they are fully booked during peak hours, and all additional expansion will only be permitted in non-peak hours, the same situation as HAL airport is right now. If BIAL chooses to follow IATA guidelines of 550 flights maximum per day on a single runway, a fact confirmed by Mumbai airport, (incidentally, India's largest and most efficient airport in terms of runway operations), Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), has only 22% expansion capability. BIAL does not intend to complete a new runway before 2013, so Bangalore will have to choke its economic growth to satisfy its contract with BIAL.
"BIA is just a glitzy terminal, otherwise it is almost the same as HAL airport". This is what hands-on aero-operations people have told me after their inspection at BIA.
Bangalore and BIAL are placing an enormous amount of trust in each other. Unfortunately in this partnership the flow of complete information seems to be only in one direction. If BIAL management can provide Bangalore with comprehensive and detailed answers to some very simple questions, may be they can allay fears of capacity.
From opening date onwards, projected till the year 2018, BIAL is requested to provide detailed figures for :
- How many flights per hour during peak hours 6am - 10am and 6pm - 8pm?
- How many passengers per hour during peak hours 6am - 10am and 6pm - 8pm?
- How many flights a day?
- How many passengers per day?
- How many flights a year?
- How many passengers per year?
- How many tons of cargo per year?
- Projected growth rate year on year for each year, international and domestic, passengers and freight ?
Write to BIAL and ask them for the answers. Their contact details are at this web page. Their e-mail address is contact@bialairport.com.
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