My first encounter with BIAL!

To the point by N.S.Balram, setting the priorities for the new CM is well timed and important, especially the mention about the urgent and hasty change over from HAL airport to the New Bengaluru International Airport and the parting points addressing to the chairman Mr Brunner.

New international airport Bengaluru was expected to de-congest the heavy passenger and air traffic congestion of the existing HAL airport. Whether BIAL is able to achieve this objective, time will be the judge. I am sharing my experience at the new International airport of BIAL on 24^th May, 2008, DAY ONE of its operation for the kind information of general public and the appreciation of the new BJP government at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru to take correct decisions.

The media was more concerned about the slow moving vehicles and the traffic congestions, highlighting only the bad roads and high density vehicles on the new airport road. They have been successful in providing sufficient warning to buffer the long traveling time to reach the Airport. The Passenger commutation from the various parts of the city is professionally managed by the BMTC with their A/C Volvo busses and the Non A/C Suvarna buses. Thanks to BMTC and the authorities in their pro active approach in providing the right connections my journey took less than an hour in the wee hours of the day.

But, here is what the rest of the experience feels like.

My flight could take off about 2 hours after the passengers boarded and were locked inside the aircraft, while waiting in queue for 3 flights before us to take-off! I was traveling to Kochi to conduct a corporate training program for senior managers, and requested an apology for the delay with the genuine excuse of initial hiccups at the new Bengaluru International Airport as consoled by the BIAL chairman, was well accepted by the participantsJ.

What makes me more disappointed is the inadequate space and facilities at BIAL. The parking place is inadequate and badly organized, leading to a lot of dust and mud raised by the moving vehicles, thus making the brand new lounge muddy.

The conveyor belts looked so old that I was not comfortable risking my expensive suitcase to check in the baggage. While entering the Airport, I felt good looking at fly over, but all my proud moments ceased a muddy, dusty alighting and departure area approached me.

The security is routine, who then allow the passengers to the crowded platform looks like Kolkata Railway station or Majestic bus station. You see a long line of check-in counters, many not even identified with an airlines or a flight. The display indicators are mini LCD TV screens carefully located, with many lines of information, not readable from the normal viewing distance and hence creating a crowd near the displays to identify the right check-in counters.

I then had a hard time locating my queue to reach the counters, due fewer counters than departures. I have been experiencing a similar situation in the HAL airport for the past so many years and have become an expert in pushing and pulling to some how manage to get my boarding pass. There were at least 30 – 40 passengers standing in front of each of the checking counters, with no idea of what is going to happen. We were having a déjà vu experience!

The security frisking and hand baggage screening process did not take much time even though the number of equipment seemed to be same as that of HAL Airport. Suddenly then you reach a big and busy shopping mall! We are received with a warm welcome by the sales executives of the various shops-restaurants, jewellers, luggage, book shops and garment stores etc. The ‘mall’ was occupying a larger chunk of space than the seating accommodation and space in the security hold. Some of the media suggestion of converting the existing HAL airport to a mega shopping mall seems a good idea as this may provide better profitability than the airport operation as seen in BIAL!

And if you by any chance you need to use a wash room, get prepared to experience the worse hygiene, one which will never stand the test of an international airport standard.

Be prepared for one last disappointment - no aero bridge.

I sincerely hope these are initial teething problems, and as time passes the passengers will get used to these problems and adjust to the ‘facilities’. There seems to be a good case to reopen the existing infrastructure facility at HAL to reduce the burden of increasing air passenger requirements and the flight traffic growth.

-SP